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Notre Dame Football Recruiting

Coach | No Ceiling For 2024 Notre Dame DE Target Loghan Thomas

May 14, 2023
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Loghan Thomas‍ may have burst on the national recruiting landscape with a breakout performance at the National Combine in January, but David Hicks Sr. knew what the 2024 Texas defensive end was capable of long before that.

“He's freaking awesome, man,” says Hicks Sr., the head football coach at Paetow High School in Katy, Texas.

“He's awesome.”

Despite the elite athleticism, the first thing Hicks points to is Thomas’ attitude.

“He is probably one of the hardest working kids that you'll ever meet and he's so humble,” the coach says. “You can always tell those special kids, they're very humble, they don't let anybody outwork them. He has that lunch pail mentality.”

Of course, the 6-foot-4, 210-pounder’s athleticism is truly elite, which is a major reason he’s gathered scholarship offers from schools like Notre Dame, Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Georgia, LSU and USC among several others.

“He is a super duper athlete,” says Hicks. “What people don't realize is he's probably a 10.8 100-meter kid. He runs the second leg of the 4x100 and he does that all playing defensive end and with a 40-inch vertical. It's crazy the things that he can do athletically.”

As for his ceiling…

“He doesn't have one,” the coach says. “He can be as good as he wants to be. In the right system, he'll be an NFL Draft Pick. He is very special. Once you get that crazy athleticism and the will to want to be good, that's something that you just can't teach. He has that real It Factor.”

Thomas would fit in many systems, but Hicks believes the one Marcus Freeman has at Notre Dame is one of the best.

“Coach Freeman, it speaks for himself as far as a defensive mind,” says Hicks. “The defense that Logan would have a chance to play in, playing that real five and four-man front to really show off his athleticism and making sure his strengths are being displayed.”

Hicks is also a huge fan of Irish defensive line coach Al Washington, who recruited Hicks’ son, DJ Hicks in the Class of 2023.

“He is a tireless recruiter,” Hicks says of Washington. “He's a tireless recruiter. Trust me, I went through it with my son. It's hard to tell that guy 'No.' He just does a great job building relationships and he makes everybody feels comfortable. He's a wonderful coach.”

Thomas visited South Bend earlier in the spring and already has two more trips to Notre Dame scheduled in the coming weeks, an unofficial at the end of the month and an official next month.

On top of everything else, the academics and tradition at Notre Dame along with the fact Thomas is originally from Ohio make it all that more appealing, according to Hicks.

“Coach Freeman and Coach Washington are doing a freaking great, great job recruiting him and his family. It's really a great spot for him. I think he's really that type of kid.”

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