Thompson talks early recruiting
Shaq Thompson knows how to make a big impression.
On national television, the junior running back/defensive back from Sacramento (Calif.) Grant rushed for 118 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries and also caught three passes for 111 yards and another score in the Pacers' 49-14 win against Folsom, Calif., this past weekend.
Advertisement
Thompson was pleased with his performance but admitted he still has room to improve especially running the ball.
"I had a good game at running back but I think I could have done a little bit better," Thompson said. "I feel good about myself.
"I thought they were going to score a little bit more but I guess our defense executed more than their offense."
Many consider Cal a frontrunner for Thompson, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound prospect, because his brother, Syd'Quan, played for the Golden Bears. Thompson said Cal is definitely in the running but he doesn't plan to commit until his senior year and he'll look at all options.
"I'm going to wait until my senior year to choose," Thompson said. "Everybody talks about my brother and how he went to Cal. I might follow his path but I might not. Nobody knows except for me."
Cal, UCLA, UNLV and now USC are involved with Thompson, one of the top prospects at the Palo Alto NIKE Camp and clearly one of the leaders on a loaded Grant team that also features four-star prospects Viliami Moala and James Sample and three-star recruits Darryl Paulo and Puka Lopa, who both played well Friday night.
Whether Thompson is recruited at running back is still undecided. He believes colleges will recruit him at wide receiver or safety but if he continues to play so well out of the backfield coaches might look at him there as well.
"This is my first game at running back," Thompson said. "The coaches will see I ran hard but I think I could have run a little bit harder. I just ran for yardage and not big runs.
"I'm starting to warm up to it but if it was offense I'd want to play wide receiver and if it was defense I'd want to play safety."