CA junior of the year names top five

Sacramento (Calif.) Grant two way standout Syd Thompson earned California’s Junior Mr. Football by CalHiSports.com last year and showed this past weekend why he’ll be a strong contender to win the honor once more this year. Simply put, when it comes to making big plays on both sides of the ball, few can match Thompson.

Thompson, 5-9, 180 pounds is an incredible talent who could play cornerback, safety, running back or receiver as well as return kicks at the next level. We’ve known the talented athlete since he was in the 8th grade as one of Thompson’s uncles has worked the NorCal Nike Camp the last 10 years and the Grant star has attended the camp the last five years.

Playing area rival Oak Ridge (Ryan Moya), Thompson had a monster game scoring the go ahead touchdown on a six yard run with a minute left and then preserved the win with an interception in Grant’s end zone with just six seconds left to play. In all, Thompson rushed for 171 yards and three scores and never came off the field playing on special teams as well as cornerback and safety.

“There were coaches from Cal, Oklahoma and UCLA there on the sidelines so it was a big game for me and our team,” Thompson said. “When you see coaches from three major programs on the sidelines, you can’t help but notice them. I wasn’t worried about it though or putting any extra pressure on myself. I just wanted to help our team get a win.”

All three schools in attendance are part of Thompson’s top five right now along with Kansas State and Arizona.

“I have a visit set to Oklahoma (Oct. 22) and the rest of my trips, I’ll take after the season,” Thompson said. “I’m probably leaning to Cal right now but all the schools on my list are real close. Cal is the local school and they’re playing great football right now. Plus academically, it’s a great school but I’m not planning to make any decisions until after I take all my visits.”