Florida's Thompson plays himself into mix
Deonte Thompson recognized a blitz on John Brantley during Wednesday's scrimmage, then blocked the defender before he reached the quarterback.
The play provided Brantley a few more seconds to complete a pass and showed progress by Thompson, who admitted he was so frustrated last season that he didn't always give his best effort in practice.
Apparently, one year can make a big difference. Now, the redshirt freshman could be the Gators' No. 3 wide receiver, just behind junior Percy Harvin and senior Louis Murphy.
"He's kind of getting to where he were hoping he would be when we got him,"
UF offensive coordinator Dan Mullen said of Thompson, who admitted that being redshirted in 2007 was "for the best"
but wasn't easy.
"It was real frustrating coming from where you're always playing,"
Thompson said. "And now you don't play, you're real frustrated."
There was reasoning behind it. Gators wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales described Thompson last year as the type of player who kind of knew what he had to do but couldn't go 100 percent fast at it. Last spring, Gonzales said Thompson was still missing some plays.
Now Thompson could be a four-year starter.
"I feel like one of the older guys,"
he said. "Coach says this year he sees me going hard. I feel different [this year]."
But don't think Thompson has learned it all.
"He had a good summer, but ultimately, we're a work in progress,"
Gonzales said. "Deonte has still got to go out there and improve every game right now to get better."
Thompson has proven one thing, though - he's fast - so defenders could have a hard time bringing him down.
"He's got some blazing speed,"
UF sophomore safety Major Wright said in the spring. "It's hard to stop him. He gets in the open field, you will not catch him."
