Making the Case: Brenen Thompson down to three
There was a time that Oklahoma felt like the team to beat for Brenen Thompson. Clemson made a run and interested him. Alabama and Oregon were also serious contenders recently.
But the four-star athlete from Spearman, Texas, narrowed his list to three favorites in the last few days with Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas A&M making the final cut.
The plan is for Thompson to visit those three programs one more time and then he could be ready to make a commitment.
It has been a long and winding road for the speedster who lives in a small town in the Texas Panhandle since he has narrowed his list of dozens of offers to these three. After more visits, he could be ready to decide and while there is a feeling he will stay somewhere in-state, Oklahoma State can't be counted out.
In today’s Making the Case, experts from around the Rivals network argue why Thompson could - or could not - end up at one of his three finalists and national recruiting director Adam Gorney issues his verdict.
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OKLAHOMA STATE
"The reasons to think Thompson winds up in Stillwater are two things that go together – James Washington and Kasey Dunn. Washington and Thompson were both raised in smaller towns in West Texas. The former had a huge college career under the tutelage of Dunn, as did Tylan Wallace. The reason to think he won't is simply that it's a tough chore to pull top Texas kids away from UT and A&M." - Jeff Johnson, OStateIllustrated.com
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TEXAS
"Thompson took an unofficial visit to Texas over the summer and the Longhorns will get an official visit in the fall as well, so there's some familiarity from both sides of this one. Texas, under Steve Sarkisian, can showcase how Sark has utilized players similar to Thompson with success, which should give UT a strong selling point.
"Also, if you're reading the tea leaves on social media, Thompson's mother appears to be very fond of the idea of him at Texas, which never hurts." - Jason Suchomel, Orangebloods.com
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TEXAS A&M
"The Aggies have really targeted Thompson for a while now and for good reason – he's one of the more exciting players in the 2022 class. And, point blank, the Aggies need some more wideouts in this class. Right now, they only have Noah Thomas committed and with a number of players on campus who have either not contributed to date or can enter the draft in 2022, it's a need.
"So A&M can offer playing time and development against the very best, right off the bat. That differentiates them from the other two programs still in it." - Mark Passwaters, AggieYell.com
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THE VERDICT
“The difficult part of making a prediction when it comes to Thompson is twofold: The four-star athlete does not talk much about his front-runners and secondly, all three could make a compelling case as to why those programs could land him. There have been a lot of successful players at Oklahoma State over the years that resemble Thompson’s game. It’s also the closest to home by far.
"At Texas, there is the opportunity to play for coach Steve Sarkisian and if the Longhorns’ offense is humming early on then they could be tough to beat. Texas A&M provides opportunity early on at receiver and the Aggies are the closest to making a run to the College Football Playoff.
"This is a tough call that could still go a number of ways but my feeling is that Texas is the team to beat here. If Sark’s offense looks potent this season then it could even be more solidified that the Longhorns land Thompson when he’s ready to decide.” – Adam Gorney, Rivals National Recruiting Director