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Hurricanes Land Chad Thomas

MIAMI (CBS Miami/The Miami Herald) – The Miami Hurricanes landed a major player that they really wanted, Saturday.

According to CBS4 news partner, The Miami Herald, the Canes got defensive end Chad Thomas to commit to the team.

Thomas was the defensive line MVP atThe Opening combine in Oregon two weeks ago and a consensus four-star recruit according to Rivals and 247Sports.com.

His decision to sign came just one day after Booker T. Washington teammate Nigel Bethel also committed to the team.

"I added everything up and Miami had the best offer," Thomas told the paper.

He chose to play at Miami over Florida State, Alabama, N.C. State, Louisville and LSU.

"Florida State and Alabama are both great programs. But Miami has got what I'm looking for in terms of opportunity and academics too," the paper reported.

Thomas earned All-Dade and All-State First Team honors last season and helped lead Booker T. to the Class 4A state championship.

He told the paper that he gained a lot of knowledge at The Opening from Ndamukong Suh, his position coach at the combine. He said he wants to show off what he learned there this season.

"I feel like I'm not only bigger, but faster," Thomas told the paper. "I just can't wait for the season to get started.

Thomas is the 23rd commit in Miami's 2014 class.

Miami had the No. 3 ranked recruiting class in the country for 2014 according to 247Sports.com early Saturday morning.

(©2013 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report.)

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