Thompson is headed to C-USA

Hammonton (N.J.) St. Joseph cornerback Rob Thompson made a decision on Thursday. The 6-foot-0, 178-pounder decided to wrap a choice up early picking Conference USA over the Big Ten among others.

"I just committed to Old Dominion last Thursday," he said. "Before I committed, I had nine or ten scholarship offers including Bucknell, Colgate, Villanova, Iowa, Bryant, Rhode Island, Stony Brook and Monmouth. I was actually going to go visit Iowa at the end of this month, but I decided to go to Old Dominion after my parents and I thought about it."

Why did Thompson elect for Old Dominion over other scholarships including Iowa?

"Well, I went to Old Dominion and visited in April and I loved it," he said. "It's closer to home and I didn't want to be 15 hours away from family. Plus, I have family in Virginia, in Virginia Beach. It was a tough decision, but I'm a momma's boy and I miss my mom. Choosing Old Dominion allows my older family members to come watch me play.

"Then, them moving up to Division I next year, that was pretty much icing on the cake. That really interests me and made me know I'm part of something really good. That was a big part of it."

He went deeper on Old Dominion.

"It's such a family atmosphere from the coaches and players," he said. "The past few years they have had a winning record and a winning team. They are going to be a strong contender and I'm sure they'll be great. I went to their spring game and a lot of things impressed defense, the offense and me they ran as well as how the coaches interact with the players. All they do is teach and that is something I like."

It didn't hurt that Thompson sees the potential to play early.

"I have a chance to play as a freshman at corner," he said. "That interests me and on top of that, I'm planning to graduate early and be there in January for spring football to give me a better chance of playing."

Overall, Thompson is thrilled with his selection.

"I went to the place I felt like I was at home," he said. "My family is 100% behind me and my decision. They play great football and it's a great education. It's what I'm looking for and I fell in love with the school, so did my family."