Let it flow: Unlike football, Thompson's hair a work in progress

His hair, on the other hand, is still very much a work in progress. He’ll style it on certain occasions (like taking a photo with his dog Zoey). Other times, the hair has a mind of its own.

Thompson doesn’t put too much pressure on his hairstyle. Whatever happens, happens.

“I don’t really have to do anything with my hair in the morning. I just wake up and I just go with it,” Thompson said. “I don’t really have a hair routine. I just let it down or just let it flow up. Sometimes it’s crazy and I just deal with it.”

Coach Darrell Higgins deserves some credit for Thompson’s improvement on the field. But he might deserve every bit of it for the hairstyling.

“He pulled me off and said, ‘You need to get looking right before you go (for the picture),’” said Thompson, the 2022 TimesDaily small schools football player of the year. “I was like, ‘yes sir I will.’”

After all, Higgins just wants what’s best for his players. That could mean winning games, or in this case, having the best look possible.

“I talk to him all the time about looking the part, about trying to look professional and be somebody that when you go out in public, it’s a good look,” Higgins said. “I’m glad he showed up with his hair looking good.”

“Looking the part” may also help Thompson out while getting looked at to play in college. He said coaches and recruiters from all over are texting him almost every day.

It has been a bit overwhelming for Thompson at times. But he knows this is only the beginning of what will probably be a frenzy going into his senior year.

“Coaches text me all the time asking me to get down (to their campus). I just tell them I’ll get down there whenever I can because there’s so many texting my phone,” Thompson said. “It gets a little tiring, but I just have to deal with it.”

The heavy recruitment doesn’t come as much of a surprise to Higgins and the Panthers' coaches. Thompson, who had 13 receiving touchdowns, an interception-return touchdown and a score on a kickoff and punt return, had his best season yet.

They knew, however, the first-team All-State player was capable of being a great athlete a while ago.

“He’s really been unfazed by all the attention. It’s been good to watch how humble he is with all the stuff that’s coming in for him,” Higgins said. “We knew he had a lot of talent at an early age. He’s been playing varsity for us since eighth grade.

“… Being at a small school, when you got a talent like that, we gotta put him everywhere we can to help us win games. He just likes playing and he’s got a unique ability.”

There’s still one more high school season for Thompson to worry about before he goes to college. The Panthers — in their first season in Class 3A, which they were ranked No. 1 for most of the season — were upset by Geraldine in the second round of the playoffs.

That doesn’t take too much away from how much Thompson enjoyed it and how much he’s looking forward to his senior year.

“It was a great regular season. We beat some tough competition,” he said. “It was a fun season and I wouldn’t ask to do anything else.”