Antonio Thompson

[Rabbitlivinginverm]

Does anyone know/heard of where Antonio is going to college. I heard (yes, heard and not putting any credibility into it. Not from a source "in the know". This is pure speculation.) that he had decided on SDSU. He would be a tremendous addition to our program. Anyone have any idea?

[JACKGUYII]

Re: Antonio Thompson

This would be huge news for the Jacks as IMHO Antonio is hands down the best athlete this state has seen in years. If anyone doubts that go watch one of his wrestling matches. This is the kind of athlete the Jacks will need to excel at the DIAA level. I know he was recieving interest from Wyoming, Iowa State and others, but maybe decided to stay close to home.

[JBNJBQ]

Re: Antonio Thompson

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs...01/1002/SPORTS


Thompson verbally commits to Jacks



Chris Solari
csolari@argusleader.com

Article Published: 01/12/06, 2:55 am

Roosevelt's Antonio Thompson, one of the most coveted high school football players in the state, verbally committed to play football at South Dakota State on Tuesday night.

Rough Riders coach Brent DeBoer said Thompson chose the Jackrabbits over the University of South Dakota.

"I just think he's a South Dakota guy," DeBoer said. "He wants to play Division I football and stay close to home. Playing at South Dakota State is probably a pretty good fit for him."

The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder played fullback and defensive end this year. He rushed for 977 yards and 14 touchdowns on 137 carries on offense and had 21 unassisted tackles and six sacks on defense.

DeBoer said SDSU did not commit to a position for Thompson, who had also started at linebacker for Roosevelt in the past.

"I think they've got some options," DeBoer said.

College coaches are not permitted to comment on recruits until they sign a National Letter of Intent.

Reach Chris Solari at 977-3923.

[SDSUFAN]

Re: Antonio Thompson

Very good News. Picked SDSU over USD. Will Craig and Mike mention this today on their show?

[Jacks02]

Re: Antonio Thompson

Great news for SDSU, love the comment on staying in-state but wanting to play at the highest level

[jackmd]

Re: Antonio Thompson

This, in my opinion, is a huge deal for the Jacks. To sign a DI quality athlete from SD is a trend that I hope will continue. Redshirt or not this should pull some more fans up from Sioux Falls. I can't wait to see him in the blue and yellow.

[JACKGUYII]

Re: Antonio Thompson

This is great news as Antonio may prove to be one of our best recruits and players since we made the transition. I wonder if he will be able to wrestle as well?

[Jacks99]

Re: Antonio Thompson

Great news. ;D

[SDSUFAN]

Re: Antonio Thompson

This is great news as Antonio may prove to be one of our best recruits and players since we made the transition. I wonder if he will be able to wrestle as well?

It seems to be policy(?) not sure if that is the right word to have scholarship athletes participate in just one sport which has its advantages in that some sports are really getting to be inovolved and require a great deal in off-season time. I would think football is one of them.

As JDJack has brought up a number times, we seem to discourage football players from running or participating in track and visa versa whereas up the road at NDSU, they seem to permit double participation.

We seem to have a hard time recruiting speed for both sports because of this limitation.

Other than wrestling overlapping fb in the early part of the season I dont see why he couldnt, but then I am not part of the adminstration. I would tend to think they will try to talk him out of being a wrestler.

[Texas_Jacks_Fan]

Re: Antonio Thompson

I think SDSUFAN is right about SDSU athleets competeting in multiple sports. In this case I hope Antonio could participate in both wrestling and football if he wanted to.
The best wide reciever in the state of Texas (Renfro from Southlake Carroll) just committed to TCU yesterday where he will playing football for the Frogs and running track (hurdles).

Antonio Thompson has the talent to compete at the D1 level in both sports.

[jackrabbit1979]

Re: Antonio Thompson

Actually, I would say he is at higher level in wrestling. I have had the opportunity to see him wrestle just a few times, but he absolutely dominates. I would bet Coach Liles is happy today that he even has a chance to get him on the squad.

[jackmd]

Re: Antonio Thompson

Trannon (sp?) from Mich St. was a solid receiver for the FB team and logs 20+ minutes a game for the Spartans basketball team. Had a nice game vs the Hoosiers last night.

Julius Peppers at UNC, another example. There are many more.

[mitchell]

Re: Antonio Thompson

Does anybody have any ideas on what position he would play or whether or not he would redshirt

[MilwaukeeJacksAlum]

Re: Antonio Thompson

Ryan Resel had one of the best careers at SDSU any wrestler has had. He played football and wrestled his first year after transferring from Nebraska. However, he was not on a football scholarship.

As for the track, I talked to some of my college teamates about this subject this summer. They said the fast football athletes were asked to not participate in track because the workouts for the track team were not up to par with what the football coaches wanted them to be doing. Now, this was 8-10 years ago, so I have no idea what the story is now. I do know that our winter workouts were the hardest workouts I've ever been a part of. Added to that, most of them were held at 5:30 a.m. which may as well have been 3:00 a.m. for a college kid who usually went to bed around 1:00 a.m. every night.

[JACKGUYII]

Re: Antonio Thompson

I see Antonio as a big linebacker in college. He could also add weight and be a defensive end. Antonio had other DI options, but wanted to play close to home in front of family and friends. I noticed the last football game next year is November 18th and the first wrestling match Oct 29. I could see Antonio stepping in like Hank Goff last year and contributing. We certainly lost some linebackers like Billy Ray Kirch and Tyler Trees. I think it's always best to redshirt a freshman unless he is clearly better than everyone else at that position. We recruited a numer of linebackers last year who redshirted and presumably will get on the field this year. Antonio is a remarkable athlete and I'm sure the coaches will find a place on the field where he can make plays as soon as possible.