Alabama’s Deionte Thompson ‘thankful’ for hometown connection with Ravens’ Earl Thomas

Deionte Thompson seemed destined to become a top NFL safety prospect.

He grew up in Orange, Texas, which also is the hometown of one of the greatest safeties the same has ever seen, Earl Thomas of the Baltimore Ravens. Both were standout players at West Orange-Stark High School, from where Thomas went on to star at Texas before making his mark in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks. Thompson ended up at Alabama.

‘He’s always been my favorite player and he’s still my favorite player to this day’

Now, Thompson is looking to fulfill his dream of following Thomas’ cleat prints to the next level.

“I remember Earl for the longest (time),” Thompson told Alex Marvez and Charles Davis on Late Hits. “Just watching him from high school to college. He’s always been my favorite player and he’s still my favorite player to this day. And being able to watch him over (the) years become the great player and the great man that he is. He’s one of my mentors and a guy that I try to model my game after.

‘He’s been Earl to me since I was a little guy’

“I’m just thankful to have somebody like that as a figure in my life. He’s been Earl to me since I was a little guy, so just being able to get knowledge from him and watch him do these magnificent things on and off the field, I’m just happy.”

“I’m going to keep rehabbing and meeting with teams and working out and just doing the best I can.”

Thompson is also happy with the progress he’s making in his recovery from ligament damage he suffered in his wrist while lifting weights. He was unable to participate in drills at the NFL Combine, but said he is on schedule in his recovery.

‘I have a few visits lined up, a few workouts lined up’

“It was adversity for me because I wanted to go to the combine and I wanted to do all the events because the combine is something that I’ve looked at and I’ve followed over the years,” Thompson said. “It’s something that I’ve always dreamed of doing. But, unfortunately due to the wrist injury, I wasn’t able to participate in the on-field drills and stuff.

“Friday, I’ll be six weeks out from surgery. It was six to eight weeks recovery and the recovery process is going good. I’m going to keep treating it. I have a few visits lined up, a few workouts lined up, so I’m going to keep rehabbing and meeting with the teams and working out and just doing the best that I can.”