Landen Thomas sent out the graphic on social media and then put his phone down to go running.

It was 4 p.m. April 17, and Thomas, the nation’s top tight end out of Colquitt County (Ga.) High, knew his phone was about to start buzzing with nonstop notifications for the rest of the day.

The graphic, which he crafted two days earlier and cross-posted on Twitter and Instagram with the help of social media guru Hayes Fawcett, was an announcement that within seconds of posting would have the recruiting world buzzing. Thomas, who originally committed to Florida State as a ninth-grader but flipped to Georgia last summer, was now headed back to the Seminoles in a double flip. He had told Noles coach Mike Norvell as much that Saturday night, after attending Florida State’s spring game — then came back from his Monday run to hundreds of comments on his social media pages.

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Why would he ditch Georgia? And what was it about FSU?

“I know sometimes when you feel comfortable, it isn’t best for you,” Thomas said. “But I felt that Florida State was the best option for me. The coaches always kept in contact with me even after I decommitted, so that showed a lot about them.

“Just the brotherhood they’ve got in the locker room, they came closer together and have a real tight brotherhood in the locker room. Coach Norvell is building the program back up.”

Thomas said he first started thinking about flipping back to Florida State around mid-February, shortly after he visited campus in January for the program’s junior day. He committed to Georgia in July, and despite living about 90 minutes away from Tallahassee, he hadn’t been back to FSU’s campus for a visit since November 2021, just one month after he decommitted as a freshman.

On that January visit, he started thinking about the Seminoles “more and more.” Then he took a second visit about a week before FSU’s spring game last month.

“I knew that’s where I wanted to go to school at right then and there,” he said.

Thomas, the nation’s No. 24 prospect by the 247Sports Composite, said that after informing Florida State’s staff of his decision, the first person he reached out to was his coach at Colquitt County, Sean Calhoun. Calhoun was in church that Sunday morning after FSU’s spring game when he got a text from Thomas and implored him not to post anything on social media until they had the chance to chat.

When they got on the phone, it was important to Calhoun that Thomas understand the magnitude of his decision and be able to verbalize the reasoning behind it.

Thomas then called Georgia tight ends coach Todd Hartley, his lead recruiter, to let him know he would be decommitting and followed that with a call to Georgia head coach Kirby Smart.

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Both coaches were understanding and took the news well, Thomas said. Maybe that’s because they knew this might have been in the works. Or because they’re not finished recruiting him.

“I guess they kind of knew what was going on but not really because they would tell my dad that we need to stop flirting with Florida State, like in a joking way,” Thomas said. “(Georgia coaches) still hit me up.”

Indeed, Georgia still has made Thomas a priority, which included Hartley showing up to his high school’s first day of spring practice earlier this week. Practice began around 6:10 p.m., Calhoun said. Hartley was there by 5:45 p.m.

“Obviously, when that (news) hit, I got a couple phone calls and stuff,” Calhoun said. “I think from an outsider’s perspective, it can be — what’s the best way to put it? — maybe confusing or maybe you kind of scratch your head because obviously you see the back-to-back national championships, and you see the tight ends that (Georgia is) putting in the NFL, and obviously Florida State’s not there when you look at those couple things.

“In my opinion, the only thing that truly matters is Landen’s perspective on it. … But I’ll say this, nothing’s official until he signs in December.”

Asked about his level of commitment to Florida State and if he saw himself flipping again, Thomas said he did not envision another flip and added that if he does take visits elsewhere, “It’s just for fun, really, because I really see myself at Florida State.”

Calhoun said that as of earlier this week, it was his understanding that Thomas would visit Florida State officially this summer and check out Georgia on an official visit either in the summer or at some point during the season. Asked for a prediction about how this all might shake out ahead of the early signing period in December, Calhoun indicated he wasn’t sure. Thomas has two strong options, but neither school wants to let him go.

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“Georgia’s done a fantastic job. They’ve done a fantastic job of recruiting him and have laid a good foundation,” Calhoun said. “Obviously, Florida State has, too. So Georgia’s definitely going to stick with him because Georgia has a lot to offer, Florida State has a lot to offer.

“As a ninth-grader, he was committed to Florida State. Then he commits to Georgia, and he’s with Georgia for a while, and Florida State, they kept on recruiting him. They didn’t just kind of throw him to the side. Now he flips back. Well, I know Georgia’s not gonna throw him to the side. So I don’t know. I don’t know, and I’m just curious to see where he ends up.”

While Florida State likely sold Thomas on the opportunity to help build the program — the Seminoles could be the favorites to win the ACC this year and have their highest average player rating since 2018 — the Bulldogs almost certainly will pitch Thomas on their status as a national power, along with the way they have used star tight end Brock Bowers. Bowers, who likely will head to the NFL in 2024, had 63 catches for 942 yards and seven touchdowns as a sophomore in 2022 — all team highs.

Thomas, at 6 foot 4, 235 pounds, boasts a similar type of versatility as both a pass catcher and a blocker.

“Obviously, with the way the college game’s going now, you want to be able to have a Landen-type body, Landen personnel on the field so you can get into multiple formations,” Calhoun said. “You can bring him in the box because he’s a physical run blocker, and that’s one thing that he does not shy away from.

“And then he can flex out, and then he can do a lot of things that receivers can do, and he can be a mismatch with his size. He’s got really good ball skills and is a good route runner and just understands what defenses are trying to do to him.”

Where Thomas’ recruitment goes from here will be one of the most compelling storylines to watch in the coming months, especially if the Bulldogs can get him on campus for a Saturday in the fall.

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Florida State likely will do everything it can to hang on to him. Should the Seminoles keep commitments from both Thomas and five-star running back Kameron Davis, they would be on pace to sign two top-40 players for the first time since 2017. For his part, Thomas has started to help recruit other prospects to join Florida State’s class.

“Decommitting last (month) was kind of hard because of what Georgia has going on — back-to-back national championships, they’ve drafted like six (Georgia) tight ends in the last couple drafts each year and things like that,” Thomas said. “So it was a difficult choice, but I felt like I had to make that choice for me. That’s where I feel best.”

(Top photo courtesy of Connie Southwell)