The New England Prep Show day happened at the beginning of May and it was an opportunity for coaches to see prospects work out in person from all over the region. It was created to get more eyeballs on players who might be a bit harder to identify and it accomplished exactly what it was supposed to with Charlie Thom.
He wasn’t under the radar as a recruit. He couldn’t be found on the radar. A reclassification to the 2026 class, a move to Avon Old Farms (CT), and a position switch from tight end to offensive tackle led to him working out on the day and blowing up with scholarship offers. He went from one scholarship to 21 by the end of May with Power 4 programs like Syracuse, Boston College, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Nebraska, Michigan State and Stanford among them.
Thom then went to Penn State’s camp and earned an offer while working out beside a pair of commits, including Kevin Brown who is ranked top-50 in the composite rankings. He also camped at Notre Dame where he clearly impressed the likes of offensive line coach Joe Rudolph and general manager Mike Martin. He was offered a week later and is now committed to Notre Dame.
While Thom lacks experience, he has impressive tools to work with and is an extremely intriguing prospect to add as the sixth member of Notre Dame’s 2026 offensive line class.
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 275
Projected Position: Offensive tackle
ISD Grade: 87 (3-star)
National Average Grade: 87.0 (3-star)
What he does best:
While Thom hasn’t played offensive tackle yet, he’s shown as an edge as a blocker from the tight end position.
He can get out on reach edge defenders and works to sustain his block with good leverage.
Thom has received three letters as a lacrosse player and he’s shown the same kind of physicality there as well.
What he needs to improve:
He’s at the ground floor of his development right now. He’s never played offensive tackle during a season of football and it’s going to be a process for him with every step of his technical development.
So, what does he need to improve? The simplest way to put it is everything because he is only getting started at a brand new position.
What’s his ceiling?
There’s a long list of converted tight ends who have converted to offensive tackle and it’s worked out very well. Notre Dame fans just saw Joe Alt do it as successfully as anyone has and fellow 2026 commit Grayson McKeogh is another one who was previously a tight end and who is making that transition as well.
Rudolph coached the offensive line at Wisconsin from 2015 to 2021. During that time he developed David Edwards, who played quarterback in high school and was recruited to play tight end. He gained a significant amount of weight and moved to the offensive line where he became a multi-year starter and an all-conference player in multiple seasons then a 5th round selection in the NFL Draft. Rudolph has had experience and success taking someone with little to no experience and developing them at the position and that adds the right context as to why they want Thom in the class.
Probably the biggest reason for wanting to add Thom to the class is his exceptional physical tools. His athletic testing is ELITE. He ran a 5.06 40, broad jumped 9-3, had a short shuttle in under 4.5, and recorded a vertical of close to 30 inches at Notre Dame’s camp. For those that don’t understand what that means, this is what blue-chip prospect Felix Ojo, considered a great athlete at the position, recorded this spring at 272 pounds: 5.31 40, 4.92 short shuttle, 22.7 vertical, and 7-10.2 broad jump.
Here’s what recent top-10 picks at offensive tackle recorded in preparation for the NFL Draft:
LSU’s Will Campbell: 4.98 40, 32 vert, 9-5 broad jump at 319
Joe Alt: 5.05 40, 28 vert, 9-4 broad jump, 4.51 short shuttle at 321
That’s the long version of saying that Thom has incredible athletic potential and though he’ll have to put in a lot of work to develop, he has the ceiling to become a high NFL Draft pick.
Who he could be:
Former Central Michigan offensive tackle Joe Staley
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