Rivals Profile
Louisville (MS) Louisville High School
Ht: 5-foot-11
Wt: 175 lbs
Forty: 4.4 secs
Bench max: 230 pounds
Squat max: 345 pounds
Vertical: 26 inches
Class: 2009
(High School)
Dennis
Thames, the 6-foot, 183-pound safety/wide receiver from Louisville, Miss., continues to favor Mississippi State solidly over Michigan, LSU, Auburn and Ole Miss. All of his favorites offered except LSU.
Thames admits he grew up following LSU and is still hoping the Tigers offer. "I've always watched them on TV and have always been a big fan of theirs," he said. "I'd love to go there, but they haven't offered. I'll just wait and see what happens. They invited me to their camp and I'm gonna go and do my best."
Thames is going to have a busy summer because besides the LSU camp, he also plans to attend camps at Michigan, Auburn, Mississippi State and Ole Miss.
"I'm going to go to as many camps as I can this summer," he said. "I want to find good coaches to play for that are good teachers and will help me get better."
One school that
Thames is looking forward to visiting in particular is Michigan. "They are a big school and I like the new spread offense they are gonna run," he said. "I think I'd fit in really well in their offense and I'd love to play receiver for them. They've talked about both offense and defense, so we'll see."
Either way, in-state favorite Mississippi State is going to be hard to beat. "They are only 30 minutes away and I'd prefer to stay close," he said. "It would be nice to be able to come home during the weekends
STADIUM NEAR YOU: Dennis
Thames is living the life of a big leaguer this week while spending time with his uncle, Tigers outfielder Marcus
Thames.
But he could hit the big time on his own in 2009 as a University of Michigan football player.
Thames, 18, a safety and running back from Louisville, Miss., is entering his senior year of high school as the country's No. 218 college football recruit, according to Rivals.com. He said he toured the UM campus in Ann Arbor on Tuesday and met with some Wolverines coaches, notably defensive coordinator Scott Shafer.
The younger
Thames said he left his visit impressed.
"They sounded like nice coaches, good coaches to be around," Dennis said while seated in front of his uncle's locker, dressed in Tigers baseball pants and hat before batting practice. "Michigan would be my No. 1 right now. They've come at me the most and recruited me."