Lakota West’s Thomas shows things off at Ohio State’s recruiting camp

June 13—COLUMBUS — Cam Thomas said his trip to Ohio State for a recruiting camp on Thursday went well.

Not that things couldn’t have gone better for the Lakota West linebacker.

He didn’t accept the coveted scholarship offer, at least not right away.

“I think I did pretty well,” he said. “I felt loose, explosive, all that. I think I could have done a little better in some of the exercises, but I did really well.”

Ohio State linebackers coach James Laurinaitis led Thomas’ group, which included players from across the state and beyond, hoping to show what they can do.

“It’s cool that you can see where you are, see what you need to do better, help other people and stuff,” Thomas said. “It’s good to work with them.”

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Thomas was careful not to appear ungrateful, but the frustration was evident — and understandable to anyone who has had something they wanted to feel so close to, but hasn’t yet arrived.

“Hmm, I think I already deserve to receive this offer,” he said. “I hope I showed them what I can do. I just hope they keep working on me and stuff.”

In the past, a player with Thomas’ profile would probably have been an almost automatic offer.

He is considered a top-10 prospect in Ohio for the 2026 class, according to 247Sports, and Power 4 prospects such as Louisville, Kentucky, Duke, Cincinnati and Michigan have already made offers to Thomas.

But Ohio State has gone from signing an average of 12 more in-state recruits per year when Jim Tressel was head coach (2001-10) to just under 10 under Urban Meyer and just 6.6 since Ryan Day replaced Meyer in 2019, achieving this The offer has never been tougher as the team works to maximize every scholarship to build a national championship roster.

The good news for Thomas is that he is in no rush to choose a school.

As a rising junior, he doesn’t have to be that way, and that’s especially true for a player who already has more than a dozen offers.

“As you get through your sophomore year, your junior year and your senior year, you start to see more things as you go on visits,” he said. “And the coaches also tell me more things, so I’m just trying to find where I’m going to have the best opportunity to develop and grow. The best opportunity for my family, too.”

Thomas was a second-team All-GMC selection last season when he made 32 tackles, including 5.5 for loss and 4.5 sacks.

He recently visited Notre Dame and said trips to Oregon and Alabama are also available before recruiting ends for the summer.

He identified Ohio State, Notre Dame, Oregon, Kentucky, Illinois and Virginia Tech as the standout schools at this point in the recruiting process.

“I hear all the time that I’ll never be that desired again in my life, so I’m just enjoying the process,” he said. “Anyway, it’s cool to come to all these places. I mean, I’m having fun with it, of course.”