Recruiting skies open for Thompson

Independence (Mo.) Fort Osage's Skylar Thompson was the No. 2 point-getter and was ranked as the top overall performer by Rivals.com analysts at Sunday's Rivals Quarterback Challenge in Dallas.

His performance hasn't gone unnoticed.

Thompson has received kudos in the days since the event from several college coaches that had been recruiting him, and new interest has come from other programs.

"Coach (Dan) Enos from Arkansas, the quarterbacks coach at K-State and a couple other guys congratulated me on having a good weekend," Thompson said. "Oklahoma State's quarterbacks coach, Mike Yurcich, I talked to this morning and he congratulated me on a good day. Penn State, just a few hours ago, contacted me and said they wanted to get to know me better and they would probably be in this spring to watch me throw."

Rivals.com analysts noted that Thompson had the best performance from beginning to end during Sunday's event. He was only narrowly edged by Houston's Rondle Johnson for the top spot in the points competition and a trip to Baltimore for the finals of the Rivals Quarterback Challenge. (Thompson still has a chance at one of the 10 wild card spots in Baltimore.)

The 6-foot-2, 193-pound prospect was pleased with his performance this past weekend.

"It was definitely fun going and competing," Thompson said. "I just went into it level-headed and felt like I had something to prove, so I had a lot of confidence going in and it stuck with me the whole day. It kept running through my head that I was out here to show people that I am pretty good and I think I proved it throughout the day.

"The competition was probably the best part. It being an all-quarterbacks thing, everybody is competing. There wasn't trash-talking or anything, but everybody was trying to outdo someone to get a spot into Baltimore. It was just a fun day overall."

Thompson went into the Rivals Quarterback Challenge with offers from Illinois State, Kansas and North Dakota State. The offer from the Jayhawks, being his first from a Power Five school, stood out.

"I really enjoyed my visit out to KU," Thompson said. "Going into it I really wasn't expecting them to offer. As I got there things started heating up. They told me to call after I left and they offered then.

"As far as KU being my first offer, I think it definitely put them out on the map for me. That shows that they truly want me and they were the first team to pull the trigger, so I am definitely going to look at them and see what they are all about throughout the recruiting process."

With Kansas' campus in Lawrence being just an hour from Thompson's home, he expects to attend several spring practices and their spring game in the next month. He also has plans to travel to three schools later this month that have been showing strong interest.

"In two weeks I am visiting Oklahoma State during the weekend, then flying out to Wake Forest during the week. When I get back, I am visiting Arkansas," Thompson said.

"At Oklahoma State, I talked to their recruiting coach the past few weeks. Today was the first day I talked to their offensive coordinator. He said he really likes me and wants to get to know me better.

"Wake Forest is probably one of the first schools that started recruiting me. I talk to them the most. They are really interested and I am their guy they like a lot, so we'll see how that goes. I am definitely looking forward to going out and visiting there.

"At Arkansas I talk with Coach Enos here and there. He has basically been telling me how he likes me and making sure I am still coming down there to visit, which I am. I think he is anxious to see me in-person, see how big I look and watch me throw in-person."

Even with a strong showing at the Rivals Quarterback Challenge under his belt, Thompson is not resting on his laurels. He'll have plenty on his plate in the coming weeks.

"I'm getting prepared for the spring," he said. "There are going to be a lot of coaches, I am assuming, coming in to watch me throw. I am going to be preparing and not let this get to my head what happened this past weekend. I am going to keep on plugging along, keep working hard and trying to get where I want to be."

During his junior season at Fort Osage, Thompson threw for 2,385 yards and 24 touchdowns while rushing for 461 yards and nine more scores.

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