A renaissance man in his own right, Booker T. Washington High School senior of Miami, FL, Chad Thomas, is one of the top football prospects in the nation. Along with being an All-American defensive end, Thomas holds a 3.3 g.p.a and can play nine instruments. His talents have earned him 150 scholarship offers for his skills in music and football.

While Thomas is very passionate about the game of football, he’s not shy about his skills in music. His love for music began at age 3 while listening to his grandmother’s gospel CDs. She was the one to buy him his first toy guitar and sign him up for piano lessons; by 5-years-old, Thomas was performing.

After her passing when he was 7, he turned to music to keep him company as an only child. Today, Thomas is proficient on the piano, trombone, tuba, euphonium, guitar, bass guitar, snare, trumpet and drums. In middle school, he began learning how to make beats with the MC-808 he convinced his father to buy him.

“I thought he was full of it when he told me he played all these instruments and was a musician,” Booker T. Washington coach Tim “Ice” Harris said. “Then he started playing them in front of me, showing me his beats, breaking it down. I was impressed.”

His journey in football began at age 12 after he convinced his parents to let him play; he had asthma and a heart murmur when he was young. Since then, he’s helped lead his team to back-to-back state championships and a national title this past season. With confidence he can play football at any school, Thomas chose the University of Miami to pursue his dreams in football and music; he fell in love with the University’s Frost School of Music.

“It’s always been in my mind to go to school there. Football is not for long. I can go down with a knee injury tomorrow, but I know I’ll always be able to move my fingers and play an instrument, click a mouse.”

Learn more about Chad Thomas on the Miami Herald.