Chicago (Ill.) Mount Carmel senior inside linebacker recruit Austin Maciel Haygood (6-foot-0, 230 pounds) decided to give St. Thomas his verbal commitment on Wednesday. Maciel-Haygood discusses his college decision here.

"I just fell in love with the school and the coaches at St. Thomas," Maciel Haygood said. "St. Thomas reminds me in a lot of ways of my team at Mount Carmel. I was able to make a visit to St. Thomas a few months ago and the visit really impressed me and I just felt like now was the time for me to make my decision."

Maciel Haygood pointed towards a handful of key factors in giving the Tommies his verbal commitment.

"I just really get along great with the coaches at St. Thomas and I've had some great talk with head coach Glen Caruso and my recruiting coach Jarod Dotson. I had a chance to sit down with the coaches at St. Thomas and we watched and broke down some of my film. The coaches remind me a lot of my coaches at Mount Carmel and they are just very supportive. St. Thomas is moving to the FCS level in 2021 and it will be fun since I know a lot of kids who already play in the Pioneer League. The facilities at St. Thomas is really impressive and so fare the locker rooms. It's just a well funded school and football program. St. Thomas also has it's own separate campus for the business program and they offer a very strong education and degree."

So who else did Maciel Haygood consider before committing to the Tommies?

"I looked hard into Butler, Valparaiso and Drake. I made visits to Valpo and Butler and those are really nice schools but I just felt a better connection with St. Thomas. I feel greta about my decision. I didn't think I would be committed this soon but I found a school that's just a great fit for me. St. Thomas has some great things planned and I want to be a part of program."

So what is St. Thomas getting in Austin Maciel-Haygood?

"They are getting a player who is humble but who also has a a strong work ethic. I want to come in and earn my spot and try to be a leader for my teammates."

Austin Maciel Haygood is verbally committed to St. Thomas.