Some people don't follow recruiting as closely as others, but I'm guessing even those who don't know who Kendal Thompson's father is. Former wishbone QB Charles Thompson, for those of you who may need a OU history lesson, would be the man I'm referring to. Now if you know your history, you're well aware of the issues CT had during his time in Norman. Well that's in the past and now his son Kendal looks to finish what his father started.
In what has become a very noticeable trend, Thompson is the next step of the progression of OU coaches to recruit a more mobile QB. Thompson is incredibly athletic at the QB spot and would bring a facet to the OU offense not seen during the Bob Stoops era. Despite Thompson's obvious athletic ability, he is widely considered to be a pass first guy and will usually only look to run if there is just nothing else there.
Thompson has above average arm strength and is also able to put good touch on the ball when needed. He does have a little bit of a funky delivery, which I'm sure is something he'll have plenty of time to work on with the best QB coach in the country. We've all witnessed what Heupel is capable of when it comes to coaching QBs so there is no reason to think he can't have the same kind of success with an athlete the caliber of a kid like Thompson.
There has been speculation that he'll have to switch positions at some point to ever see the field for OU, but there is absolutely nothing to validate that and a statement you could make about a ton of high school kids coming into college. It would be interesting to see if in the next year or two, OU could develop a package specifically for Thompson to capitalize on his athletic abilities (like down near the goal line for instance).
Thompson 6'2" 180 and clocked in with a 4.57 forty. He is a three star recruit and the #21 overall QB in the country per Rivals. He didn't really get offered by many other schools, but that had everything to do with his vocal intentions toward OU as opposed to his talent. You'll probably notice a theme here, but expect a redshirt year for Thompson and then a battle in 2012 for either the primary backup spot to then senior Landry Jones or potentially the QB1 spot if Landry were to leave early.
Loading comments...