Every year, we see recruits blow up, seeing a rush of scholarship offers from major programs in a very short period of time.
But rarely do we see a prospect explode the way Charlie Thom has.
Less than two months ago, the 2026 Connecticut offensive lineman’s only offers were from Army, Air Force, Monmouth and Sacred Heart.
Within the last couple of weeks he’s taken official visits to Boston College and Penn State and this weekend, he’ll take an official visit to Notre Dame after receiving offers from all three.
In between, he also gathered offers from schools like Stanford, Michigan State, Nebraska, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest along with a host of G6 and Ivy League schools among others.
The 6-foot-7, 275-pounder saw the surge following his transfer to Avon Old Farms, where he’ll play offensive line for head coach Jon Wholley after playing tight end at his previous school, Darien High School.
Much of the attention from colleges ramped up in the leadup and aftermath of his participation in last month’s Connecticut Show Day.
Thom traveled to South Bend earlier this month to earn his Irish offer, though.
“I was at camp last Monday and had performed well in front of the coaches,” Thom says.
“They had let me know they would be calling me in the coming week and Coach (Joe) Rudolph did the other day.”
Thom is still trying to make sense of his recent explosion, especially the offer from the Irish.
“It was honestly insane,” he says. “Being offered by them was crazy and I’m still sort of shell shocked.
“I like their OL tradition and their recent mentality. I also like Coach (Marcus) Freeman’s tenacity as a head coach.”
But Thom’s interest in the Irish goes beyond their football program.
“Notre Dame is a high academic institution and that’s something that’s really important to me and my family,” he says.
As Thom heads into this weekend’s official visit, it’s clear Notre Dame possesses the type of package he is looking for.
“For me, I want to be able to find the balance of academics and competitive football.”
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