Pete Thomas started 21 games for Colorado State in two seasons, but he was not happy about the coaching change made by CSU after the 2011 season and decided to look elsewhere:
"I sat down with Coach McElwain a few times and had a good talk with him, but in the end, I decided this was the right thing for me to do," Thomas said. "I needed a new start, and I am looking for that opportunity. When I committed to CSU, I never thought of Fairchild or the staff being fired, but it's a business. You can't go 3-9 three years in a row and expect to keep your job. That's real tough, but it's on us players. It was definitely a hard situation."
According to Bruce Feldman, the 6-5, 225 pound quarterback has decided to transfer to NC State. Thomas was recruited by NC State out of high school and (in addition to the Pack) had offers from Maryland, Boston College, Arizona State, and Northwestern.
As a true freshman in 2010, Thomas completed 64.7% of his passes for 2,662 yards, 11 TDs and 13 INTs. Last year he completed 61.7% of his throws for 1,607 yards, 7 TDs and 8 INTs. The TD-INT ratio is probably not something worth worrying about; he was sacked 71 times at CSU, and his attempts-per-INT ratio is north of 30.0, which ain't bad at all.
I'm no football coach (surprise!), but I like the fact that he was able to step in as a true freshman and complete a high percentage of his throws. I'm also encouraged by the fact that this staff wanted Thomas out of high school, because I think they're better than most at vetting QBs.