Logan Thomas Will Return for His Senior Season

Logan Thomas announced today on ESPN College Football Live that he will return for his senior season. Woo! And I need to celebrate for a minute with a GIF.

In October, Thomas had been adamant in his plans to play his senior year in Blacksburg. "I've always told everybody that I'm planning on coming back for my last one," he said.

However, after the Russell Athletic Bowl, he had this to say.

"I can't tell you now," Thomas said when asked whether he would return to Virginia Tech for his senior season. "I have a big decision in front of me either way it goes.

Considering all the stuff moving behind the curtains in Blacksburg, it was prudent for him to wait for his feedback from the NFL Draft Advisory Board before making his decision, which he reportedly got back last Wednesday. If that's indeed what he did. David Teel reported Beamer Co. kept Thomas in the loop during the coordinator search, so I will speculate that Thomas felt good about the hire (reportedly) of new offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler.

There is no arguing Thomas took a step back in his junior campaign after a promising sophomore year.

He was more inaccurate, at times a function of his shoddy mechanics, and also because of dropped passes. He also was more careless with the ball, 16 interceptions in 2012, 10 in '11.

Last season O'Cainspring tried to build an offense around Thomas, and it imploded. In 2011 Thomas had more playmakers around him (Wilson, Coale, Boykin), and he wasn't the sole focus of the attack.

If you think it was a no-brainer for LT3 to come back after a disappointing season, remember NFL general managers don't exclusively draft on production. Upside and measurables are two other important factors. Thomas' big arm and athleticism could have potentially wowed GMs, and in a year with a weak quarterback class, he might have still been drafted on day one or two.

ESPN's Mel Kiper had similar thoughts on Thomas in December.

"But when you look at the talent, he's more talented than any quarterback that's going to be in this draft. You take any quarterback — I don't care who it is — he's more talented. So I think just on potential, he could be a guy that factors into the equation."

Kiper projected Thomas as a top-five pick before the season but has since dropped him off his Big Board of the top 25 players. But he can't ignore the 6-foot-6, 250-pound frame and big arm.

"That's the thing you just have to always factor in," Kiper said. "Is he out of the first round completely? I can never just move out of the first round completely anybody with his size and his arm and his athletic ability. You can coach him up in the NFL and there's a lot to work with there. He's the kind of guy who needs a quarterback coach, needs to work on some things."

Thank you for coming back Logan.