The Notre Dame football recruiting train continues to barrel down the tracks as Joe Rudolph has landed a sixth offensive lineman in the class of 2026. This time, the commitment is a prospect that is still a bit under the radar in Avon Old Farms (Conn.) star Charlie Thom. Despite not being as high profile as some of the other commitments, Rudolph and the rest of the Fighting Irish coaching staff consider Thom a big get.
Part of the reason he's not as heralded as some other players is that he recently announced he was reclassifying to the 2026 class. He was considered a top prospect in the 2027 cycle, and teams had started to take notice. Thom picked Notre Dame over Penn State, Boston College, Stanford, Syracuse, Nebraska, and Wake Forest. All those scholarship offers came after the reclassification.
Notre Dame football lands sixth offensive lineman in 2026 recruiting class in Charlie Thom
Despite other teams starting to come into the picture (including the Nittany Lions yet again), Thom's recruitment was both a blur and focused quickly on the Notre Dame football program.
God, Country, Notre Dame! #GoIrish @NDFootball @CoachJoeRudolph @CoachDelaney52 @AOF_Football @JonathanWholley @DHSBWfootball @john_carlozzi @CarringtonBeck pic.twitter.com/mCZoypmttU
— Charlie Thom (@CharlieThom43) June 24, 2025
The Irish offered him seven days ago following a camp performance, and he decided to commit to Notre Dame following his official visit over the weekend.
The latest commitment still doesn't appear to be the final one for the 2026 class. The Notre Dame football team is in fact still looking at several other prospects to commit before the end of the summer. The biggest question now is just how much success can one team have? We're going to find out over the next few weeks.