Former five-star quarterback Ty Thompson is trying something different for his final year of college football. The 225-pound fifth-year senior can’t stop catching touchdowns as a tight end at Tulane.
A position change was his only hope for a future in the NFL!
Thompson began his college football career at Oregon. He was considered one of the 10 best quarterbacks in the recruiting Class of 2021 behind Quinn Ewers, Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, J.J. McCarthy, Kyle McCord and others. The Ducks thought that he would be their next superstar signal-caller after Justin Herbert. But that is not what happened.
Now five years later, Ty Thompson is catching passes in New Orleans. He got loose during spring practice earlier this week. And according to sideline reporter Maddy Hudak, it happened more than once!
This latest move could be what finally allows him to thrive. Or it could crash and burn. We’ll see.
Either way, Thompson’s career has been a rollercoaster.
Anthony Brown Jr. beat out the true freshman for the starting job in 2021. Oregon was not comfortable with the idea of Thompson as a sophomore so it added Bo Nix, who started in both 2022 and 2023. His backup completed 35-of-51 passes for 369 yards and four touchdowns with three interceptions during those two years.
It seemed like it was finally Ty Thompson’s time to shine in 2024 with Nix off to the NFL. However, the Ducks did it again. They added Dillon Gabriel through the transfer portal and pushed him out.
Thompson transferred to Tulane but that didn’t work out either. He lost the three-way battle for the starting job during fall camp and played limited snaps (mostly as a runner) during the regular season.
And then there was the bowl game. Thompson finally got his opportunity to make his first-career start against Florida in the Gasparilla Bowl. To say that it did not go well would be a severe understatement.
Ty Thompson completed only 11 of his 29 pass attempts for 125 yards and one (very late) touchdown with three interceptions. The Green Wave lost 33-8. Yikes.
The bowl game made it abundantly clear that Thompson did not have a future at quarterback at Tulane so he entered the transfer portal after the season. Nobody of importance picked up the phone so head coach Jon Sumrall presented him with a different idea. What about tight end?
At 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, Thompson has the body for it. And his feet are his biggest weapon so maybe there is something here. Many man before him have tried a similar switch. Some work. Some fail.
The former five-star quarterback could be the next great tight end. He could also make plays during practice but never prove competent enough to see the field during a game. Only time will tell what happens down in New Orleans.