The former Auburn safety is set to join a relatively young secondary
Chris Thompson Jr. has officially announced his transfer destination, pledging to YOUR USC Trojans late Thursday night. It’s not his first time out ‘west’ as he visited USC back during his high school recruitment days out of Duncanville, Texas.
Thompson played in six games a year ago as a true freshman for the Auburn Tigers, recording just eight tackles.
He was the country’s 199th overall player coming out of high school and the nation’s 17th-ranked safety prospect. Perhaps even more impressive was the fact that he was the state of Texas’ No. 29 overall player.
Thompson isn’t the first transfer portal pickup for head coach Clay Helton and Co., in fact, he’s far from it.
USC has added seven players from the portal this offseason including fellow safety Xavion Alford, who participated in spring practices. RB Keontay Ingram, DT Ishmael Sopsher, WR KD Nixon, TE Malcolm Epps and WR Tahj Washington have all made the decisions to transfer to USC this year.
Though he played in a minor role at Auburn this year, we can go back to his evaluation following the Under Armour High School All-American announcements that came out in high school, thanks to 247Sports:
“Physical defender with elite frame potential for projected position. Great height and length with ample space to continue to add bulk. Huge hitter who can separate the ball from the runner. Receivers must be cognizant of his presence over the middle. Provides highlight-reel pops in the open field. Flashes impressive straight-line closing speed. Enforcer in the run game when crashing downhill into the box.
“Provides personnel flexibility and might thrive in a big nickel role as a space backer hybrid. However, that also means a possible safety/outside linebacker ‘tweener. Could be a man without a true position at the next level. Must improve lateral fluidity and man coverage ability to stay at safety. Predominantly plays downhill in high school. Can clean up tackling technique. If a move to outside linebacker occurs, owns the requisite frame potential and physical nature to succeed – in addition to plus athleticism for the position. Should develop into a reliable P5 starter.”
Great decision, Chris! Excited to see you with the Trojans!