When I started the Future Stars series with Ohio State my plan was to preview the best up and coming players on the top 10 teams, or playoff contenders. After one week however, I think I will shift to the top 10 or top 20 players overall. Given that this blog is spread out over time it the whole playoff contender idea doesn't make sense, for example Ole Miss beat Alabama on the road and now who knows if Alabama will get in. They surely can't lose another, plus now Ole Miss is suddenly a contender. So, from now on it will be the top 20 or so overall players starting with the 2015 class.
Trent Thompson, Defensive Tackle, #78 Georgia Bulldogs: Let me begin this by saying Trent Thompson is a big dude. He is around 6'3" 310 lbs. and he doesn't move like most people over 300 pounds do. Thompson was the #1 overall prospect in the 2015 class and for good reason. I didn't find a high school highlight yet where he didn't beat the poor offensive lineman in front of him. He has numerous different ways to get around the blocker, I saw simple sheds to the right and left, he carries enough power to simply bull rush and drive the blocker back. The most impressive thing about Thompson is his quickness and how fast he gets through the line. Thompson has a killer first step, on multiple occasions he simply sprinted past the lineman and into the backfield. He also doesn't give up on the play, I saw a couple plays where the ball carrier would be on the other side of the field and Thompson would sprint over and crush the unsuspecting opponent.
Thompson had a very impressive high school career racking up 232 tackles, 86 tackles for loss and 21 tackles for loss. Now one thing is clear, high school football and college football is not the same. For one thing Thompson will be only above average for a defensive tackle, as compared to seeming like a giant in high school. And playing in the SEC Thompson will see some elite lineman, I doubt he will be able to blow by every lineman like he could in high school. However he seems to have enough athleticism and pure strength to more than hold his own. I do not believe Thompson will be a starter this year, but as the season progresses he should see more playing time and will start to make an impact.
http://247sports.com/Player/Trent-Thompson-29432
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