Early offers are a surprise to 2019 RB Ronald Thompkins

There is a long list of football prospects to know at Loganville (Ga.) Grayson and one is 2019 running back Ronald Thompkins. He is 6-foot, 185 pound sophomore with power and size that has the attention of college coaches early.

This fall will be his time to shine. He played behind some upperclassmen in 2016, so now he will be the focal point and he will have opportunities to make his case for one of the top backs in the 2019 class.

Tennessee was the first school to offer and the Volunteers offered on January 12. That is a big first offer and it means a lot to him.

"I have always told myself that I want to play in the SEC, so getting an offer from Tennessee, a school that plays in the SEC felt amazing," said Thompkins.

"I have been up there three or four times, so I know a lot about it. The facilities are beautiful, I like the coaches a lot and it is a top program. Them offering me first is pretty special."

"They showed me they were really interested in me when they became the first school to offer me. They believe in me, they knew about me before a lot of schools and I like Tennessee."

The Volunteers play in the SEC East, two other schools that have offered battle it out every year in the SEC West.

One is Auburn.

"I have been over to Auburn a few times and I like it over there. I have been there for a game and I really like how the eagle flies around the stadium before the game. I like that they play in the SEC, their offense scores a lot of points and it is a school I will get back to."

The other is another Tigers.

"I have not been to LSU yet, but I want to get out there," said Thompkins. "I really like them and their style of play. I have watched Leonard Fournette a lot and they always seem to have great running backs. I have liked them for a while now."

Thompkins has not expected any of the of the offers, but outside of Tennessee because it was offer No. 1, the one that may have surprised him the most may have come from Florida State.

"I did not see the offer from Florida State coming at all. I had not talked to their coaches much and I didn't really know coach [Jay] Graham (running backs), so this offer was a big surprise.

"When I was down there for the visit, I liked their campus, how everything was set up and it kind of had that sophisticated feel to it."

Dalvin Cook is a running back Thompkins has watched closely in recent years. Cook is a back who would have been a star in any conference, but the SEC is the conference Thompkins thinks he may fit into the best.

"The SEC is just a top conference with a lot of power schools playing in it," said Thompkins. "You see a lot of top players, they play a lot of smash-mouth football, they send a lot of players to the NFL and there is great competition there.

"I like to run hard, I like the style of play in the SEC and that is why I would love to play in that conference one day."

This could be a big spring for Thompkins. There will be coaches at Grayson from all over with the 2018, 2019 and 2020 prospects on that team. Georgia and Nebraska are two schools that have yet to offer that are showing interest in him now, but expect his offer list to grow in the coming months.