Why four-star EDGE Loghan Thomas had a successful first Notre Dame game day visit
Notre Dame football games are hard to come by for 2024 EDGE commit Loghan Thomas. The four-star recruit from Lakewood (Ohio) St. Edward plays six of his 10 regular season high school games on Saturdays. The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder and the Eagles even played a Sunday game.
Thomas, the On3 Industry Ranking’s No. 176 overall player and No. 11 EDGE in the 2024 recruiting cycle, used his first free Saturday to return to South Bend for the Central Michigan game. And as Blue & Gold observed, he received a teasing welcome from Irish head coach Marcus Freeman.
On Friday night, two-time defending state champion St. Edward fell to Massillon (Ohio) Washington, 15-13. It was the second time the Eagles lost to the Tigers in as many seasons. Freeman’s wife attended Massillon Washington. So, he went out of his way to acknowledge the loss with Thomas, the On3 Industry Ranking’s No. 7 prospect in Ohio.
“He was making jokes about the Massilon game (Friday) night,” Thomas told Blue & Gold.
But after a few seconds of laughter, Freeman scaled back the nonsense and gave Thomas a warm welcome back to campus.
“(Freeman) said he was excited for me to be back home,” Thomas said. “I haven’t been up to South Bend since my official visit back in the summer (June 9). So, it’s been a while since I’ve seen all of them. He was just saying he was excited and happy that I was there. …
“It means a lot, definitely knowing how much goes into a game day and how busy the coaches are. Just for him to take his time out of his game day to welcome me back played a big part.”
Those conversations continued to midfield at Notre Dame Stadium, where Thomas, Freeman, director of recruiting Chad Bowden and fellow commits S Tabebron Bennie-Powell, WR (PWO) Xavier Southall and RB Aneyas Williams hung out pregame.
Thomas and Bennie-Powell, who attends West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West, were attached at the hip for most of the afternoon.
“It felt good,” Thomas said. “A lot of the 2024 class (commits) are all super close. Me and Cam (Williams), CJ (Carr), Sean (Sevillano) and Karson (Hobbs) all talk a lot. So, we continue building that friendship and brotherhood before we even step on campus. That’s important to us.”
Thomas details the rest of his first Notre Dame game day visit
While Thomas’ connection with the commits continues to thrive, so does his relationship with the Irish coaching staff. Graduate assistant defensive line coach Ashton Derico embraced Thomas during pregame warmups.
“That’s my guy,” Thomas said. “We’re cool. I talk to him every time I’ve been up there. He has reached out to me. He’s excited to work with me, and (he) can’t wait until I get up there.”
Defensive line coach Al Washington constantly shares a similar message to Thomas behind the scenes.
Notre Dame D-linemen accounted for 20 of the team’s 53 total tackles in a 41-17 victory over Central Michigan. They also had a few penalties. Both caught Thomas’ attention.
“I think they did a pretty good job,” he said. “They had two personal fouls, but other than that, I think I did a very good job.”
Before the game, Thomas also eyed Notre Dame’s competition and felt confident enough in his abilities that he could have suited up Saturday.
“I was picturing myself, watching my position on the field,” he said. “Pictured myself making those same plays. … I always think I can play with whoever, but I still have to finish up my high school career.”
As of now, the next time Thomas will be at Notre Dame is on Oct. 28 when it faces Pittsburgh. He has high school games when the Irish host Ohio State (Sept. 23) and Southern California (Oct. 14). Overall, his first Notre Dame visit was successful.
“It was just a great atmosphere all around,” he said. “Everybody was nice. Early on in the morning, there were a lot of people there. A lot of stuff going on. With that only being Central Michigan and there being that many people, I couldn’t imagine what it would be like this week.”
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