Rising Star Cornerback Returning To FSU Football With New Number In 2024

Originally posted on Florida State Seminoles on SI
By Dustin Lewis | Last updated Jan 8, 2024 11:58 PM ET

Retainment has been the word of the month for Florida State in January with the program making a push to keep key players in Tallahassee for another season.

On Monday evening, junior cornerback and rising defensive star Azareye'h Thomas announced that he was returning to the Seminoles in 2024 through a release with The Battle's End. Thomas is one of the program's top young prospects and he's coming off a season where he recorded 29 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and ten pass deflections.

In the announcement, Thomas was featured in a graphic that showed him wearing No. 8. That's a sign that he intends to switch digits and move on to Renardo Green's former number next season.

The Florida native is expected to compete for a starting role in the spring alongside other players such as redshirt senior Fentrell Cypress II, junior Earl Little Jr., and sophomore Quindarrius Jones. He was one of the team's highest-graded players while seeing the field for 493 defensive snaps last season.

Thomas signed with Florida State as a four-star prospect in the 2022 class, choosing the program late in the recruiting process. During his first year with the Seminoles, he totaled 14 tackles, two tackles for loss, one pass deflection, and one interception in 11 appearances.

Florida State will look to Thomas to take another step forward in a cornerback room that also includes Cypress, Little Jr., Jones, redshirt senior Greedy Vance, redshirt freshman Edwin Joseph, redshirt freshman Ja'Bril Rawls, true freshman Charles Lester III, true freshman Jamari Howard, true freshman Cai Bates, and true freshman Ricky Knight III.

Outside of Thomas, running back Lawrance Toafili, running back Caziah Holmes, wide receiver Darion Williamson, wide receiver Kentron Poitier, wide receiver Destyn Hill, offensive lineman Robert Scott, offensive lineman Darius Washington, offensive lineman Maurice Smith, offensive lineman Keiondre Jones, offensive lineman Jeremiah Byers, defensive end Patrick Payton, defensive end Byron Turner Jr, safety Shyheim Brown, punter Alex Mastromanno, and kicker Ryan Fitzgerald have all announced they'll return to Florida State since December.