Trenton Thompson
Personal information
Born: (1996-07-27) July 27, 1996 (age 27)
Albany, Georgia, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:295 lb (134 kg)
Career information
High school:Westover (Albany, Georgia)
College:Georgia
Position:Defensive tackle
Undrafted:2018
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

Trenton Charles Thompson (born July 27, 1996) is an American football defensive tackle who is a free agent. He played college football at the University of Georgia. Thompson graduated from Westover Comprehensive High School in Albany, Georgia, where he earned All-USA Defensive Player of the Year honors by USA Today.[1] While he was in high school, scouts compared him to All-Pro defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.[2]

High school career

A native of Albany, Georgia, Thompson attended Westover Comprehensive High School where he was coached by Octavia Jones and former NFL defensive lineman Jeff Hunter. In his junior season, Thompson recorded 83 tackles (38 for loss) and 12 sacks, helping Westover to a third-round GHSA 4A playoff berth and its first region title in school history.[3] He was named Junior of the Year by recruiting service Rivals.com.[4] In his senior season, Thompson tallied 84 tackles, including 36 tackles for loss and four sacks, one interception and one forced fumble. He was named the Class 4A Defensive Player of the Year by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, as well as National Defensive Player of the Year by USA Today.[1]

Unanimously regarded as one of the top recruits across all positions,[5][6] Thompson was heavily recruited by elite NCAA Division I football programs, including Alabama, Florida State, Louisiana State, Michigan State, Auburn, and Southern California. His first offer came from Georgia while he was still a sophomore.[7] When he verbally committed to Georgia over Auburn and Alabama in August 2014, he cited Georgia's early recruiting effort as one of the reasons: "Georgia, they were my first offer. They were the first coaches that came down to see me and showed me the most love."[8][9] He signed a National Letter of Intent on February 4, 2015.[10]

College career

Starting his college career with "stardom widely expected",[11] Thompson was projected as a space-eater in the mold of former Florida State nose tackle Timmy Jernigan, whom Georgia's defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt coached in 2013.[12] Thompson played mostly in the second half during the first four games of the 2015 season, where he recorded 7 total tackles including a half a sack. On October 3, 2015, Thompson, listed as a defensive end, made his first start for the Bulldogs in a week 5 loss to the #13 Alabama Crimson Tide,[13][14][15] where he recorded four total tackles.[16] Thompson finished his true freshman year with 25 tackles (8 of which were solo), 2.5 tackles for a loss, and half a sack. Pro Football Focus listed him as the best true freshman on the interior defensive line, along with Missouri's Terry Beckner.[17] In January 2018, Thompson declared his intent to forgo his senior year at Georgia and enter the 2018 NFL Draft.[18]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump
6 ft 2+5⁄8 in
(1.90 m) 		288 lb
(131 kg) 		34 in
(0.86 m) 		10+5⁄8 in
(0.27 m)		 5.06 s 4.56 s 7.68 s 32+1⁄2 in
(0.83 m)		 9 ft 3 in
(2.82 m)
All values from NFL Combine[19]

Cleveland Browns

After going undrafted in the 2018 NFL Draft, Thompson signed a free agent deal with the Cleveland Browns.[20] He was waived on July 30, 2018.[21]

Arizona Hotshots

Thompson was signed by the Arizona Hotshots of the Alliance of American Football on January 18, 2019.[22] He made the final roster on January 30, 2019.[23]

After a four tackle performance in a 38-22 week 1 victory over the Salt Lake Stallions, Thompson was named by Pro Football Focus to their Week 1 AAF Team of the Week.[24][25]

Washington Valor

After the AAF ceased operations in April 2019, Thompson signed with the Washington Valor of the Arena Football League (AFL) on May 9, 2019.[26]

Edmonton Eskimos

Thompson signed with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL) on June 6, 2019.[27] He was released before the start of the regular season on June 9.

Houston Roughnecks

On October 9, 2019, Thompson was entered into the XFL draft pool. He was selected by the Houston Roughnecks during the 2020 XFL Draft held on October 15 and 16, 2019.[28][29] He signed a contract with the team on January 16, 2020.[30] He was waived during final roster cuts on January 22, 2020.[31]

Team 9

Thompson was signed to the XFL's practice squad team, referred to as Team 9, on January 30, 2020.[32] He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.[33]

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Thompson signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL on April 20, 2020.[34] After the CFL canceled the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Thompson chose to opt-out of his contract with the Roughriders on August 31, 2020.[35] He opted back in to his contract on January 14, 2021.[36] He was released on May 20, 2021.[37]

Vegas Knight Hawks

On September 1, 2022, Thompson signed with the Vegas Knight Hawks of the Indoor Football League (IFL).[38] He was released on August 24, 2023.[39]

References

  1. ^ a b "ALL-USA Defensive Player of the Year: Trent Thompson". USA Today. December 24, 2014.
  2. ^ "Top-recruit Thompson confident, ready to play for Bulldogs". January 31, 2015.
  3. ^ "Westover's Trent Thompson commits to Georgia". Albany Herald. August 13, 2014.
  4. ^ "Junior of the Year: Five-star DT Trenton Thompson". Archived from the original on April 16, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2014.((cite web)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ "ESPN 300 for Class of 2015". ESPN.
  6. ^ "2015 Composite Rankings". 247 Sports.
  7. ^ "Westover sophomore Thompson gets offer from UGA". Albany Herald. February 16, 2013.
  8. ^ "DT Trenton Thompson, No. 6 recruit, commits to Georgia Bulldodgs". ESPN. August 12, 2014.
  9. ^ "Recruiting frenzy was intense for Thompson". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. June 26, 2015.
  10. ^ Trent Thompson. "Trent Thompson Timeline Events". 247sports.com. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  11. ^ "Georgia's most important players of 2015: The final 4 begins". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. July 6, 2015.
  12. ^ "Trent Thompson, No. 3 recruit in class of 2015, commits to Georgia". Sports Illustrated. August 12, 2014.
  13. ^ "Trent Thompson to start against Alabama". Albany Herald. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  14. ^ @ 9:56am (October 2, 2015). "Georgia's five-star freshman slated for first career start against Alabama". Saturdaydownsouth.com. Retrieved October 6, 2015.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ "Henry Carter Jr". Facebook. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  16. ^ "Trenton Thompson Game By Game Stats and Performance - Georgia Bulldogs - ESPN". Espn.go.com. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  17. ^ "Top True Freshmen by Position". Pro Football Focus. December 11, 2015.
  18. ^ "Georgia defensive tackle Trenton Thompson to enter NFL draft". The Washington Post. Associated Press. January 13, 2018. Archived from the original on January 14, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  19. ^ "NFL Draft & Combine Profile - Trenton Thompson". NFL.com. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  20. ^ "Report: Former 5-star Georgia DL Trenton Thompson signs free agent deal with Browns". April 28, 2018.
  21. ^ "Browns sign 3 players". ClevelandBrowns.com. July 30, 2018.
  22. ^ "Arizona Hotshots Week One Game Time Changed". oursportscentral.com. February 2, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
  23. ^ "Alliance of American Football rosters set for inaugural season, featuring tons of former SEC players". Saturdaydownsouth.com. January 31, 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  24. ^ "Week 1 AAF Team of the Week | AAF Analysis". Pro Football Focus. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  25. ^ Adams, Kipp (December 19, 2018). "Trenton Thompson honored for performance in Week 1 of AAF". CBSSports.com. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  26. ^ "Washington Valor Team Transactions". ArenaFan.com. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  27. ^ "Eskimos Make Roster Moves". OurSports Central. June 6, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  28. ^ "XFL Draft Pool - Former Bulldog, Trenton Thompson picked up". Si.com. October 9, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  29. ^ "XFL Draft picks 2019: Complete results, rosters, players for new football league". Sporting News. October 9, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  30. ^ "XFL Transactions". XFL.com. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  31. ^ Talbot, Damond (January 22, 2020). "A Full List of XFL Roster Cuts, Who was released today?". NFLDraftDiamonds.com. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  32. ^ Garcia, Art (January 31, 2020). "XFL Unveils 'Team 9'". XFL.com. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  33. ^ Condotta, Bob (April 10, 2020). "XFL suspends operations, terminates all employees, but Jim Zorn says he has hopes league will continue". SeattleTimes.com. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  34. ^ "Riders sign DL, Trenton Thompson". Riderville.com. April 20, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  35. ^ "Tracking players who have exercised opt-outs". CFL.ca. August 26, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  36. ^ "Riders Transactions – January 14th". Riderville.com. January 14, 2021. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
  37. ^ "Riders sign defensive lineman Jonathan Woodard". Riderville.com. May 20, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  38. ^ "Transactions".
  39. ^ https://goifl.com/transactions.aspx

External links

Rivals High School Football Junior of the Year
USA Today High School Football Defensive Player of the Year winners
Categories