The Gophers football program picked up a commitment from former Ohio State pledge Aaron Thomas on Wednesday.

The 6-foot-7, 300-pound offensive tackle from Phoenix committed to the Buckeyes’ class in June and exited on Monday, but he’s staying in the Big Ten after multiple visits to Minnesota.

“Riding my own wave,” Thomas wrote on X. “@GopherFootball is home.”

The three-star recruit, according to 247Sports composite rankings, had more than 30 scholarship offer from schools across the country. The four-year player at Mountain Pointe High School made a position switch from defensive line during his junior year.

His father, Eric Thomas, as an offensive lineman at Florida State in the 1990s, and the Seminoles were one of the many programs pursuing Aaron. He visited Tallahassee, Fla., in early October.

Thomas, who appears in line to be an early enrollee in January, is the U’s 28th overall commitment for its 2026 class, and he’s Minnesota’s sixth-highest-rated recruit for next year.

The Gophers now have five O-lineman in the class, with Beckett Schreiber of Madison, Wis., joining on Monday. The U has previous commitment from Andrew Trout (Cold Spring, Minn.), Gavin Meier (Janesville, Wis.), and Lucas Tielsch (Akron, Ohio).