Keytaon Kaylen Thompson (born October 23, 1998) is an American professional football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at Virginia. He previously played quarterback at Mississippi State.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | October 23, 1998 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight: | 217 lb (98 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Landry-Walker (New Orleans, Louisiana) |
| College: | Mississippi State (2017–2019) Virginia (2020–2022) |
| Position: | Wide receiver |
| Undrafted: | 2023 |
| Career history | |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Early life
editThompson attended L.B. Landry College and Career Preparatory High School in New Orleans, Louisiana.[1] He played quarterback in high school. As a senior, he was the Gatorade Football Player of the Year for Louisiana after passing for 3,825 yards with 46 touchdowns and 1,434 rushing yards with 26 touchdowns.[2] For his career, Thompson had 10,737 yards of total offense and 149 total touchdowns.[3] He committed to Mississippi State University to play college football.[4]
College career
editThompson played quarterback at Mississippi State from 2017 to 2019. As a true freshman in 2017, he spent the year as a backup to Nick Fitzgerald.[5] He made his first career start in the 2017 TaxSlayer Bowl in place of an injured Fitzgerald.[6] He led the team to victory against Louisville, completing 11 of 20 passes for 127 and rushing for 147 yards with three touchdowns.[7] He played in nine games as a backup to Fitzgerald in 2018 and made one start. In 2019, he played in one game and took a redshirt.
Thompson transferred to the University of Virginia in 2020.[8][9] He played wide receiver at Virginia.[10][11] In nine games in 2020, he had seven receptions for 98 yards and three touchdowns.[12] In 2021, Thompson started 10 of 12 games and led the team with 78 receptions for 990 yards and two touchdowns.[13]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3+7⁄8 in (1.93 m) |
218 lb (99 kg) |
33+3⁄8 in (0.85 m) |
10+1⁄4 in (0.26 m) |
4.66 s | 1.66 s | 2.63 s | 4.35 s | 7.12 s | 34.5 in (0.88 m) |
10 ft 0 in (3.05 m) | ||
| All values from Pro Day[14] | ||||||||||||
Detroit Lions
editThompson was signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent on May 12, 2023.[15] Thompson was waived by the Lions on May 25, following the acquisition of Riley Patterson.[16]
Orlando Guardians
editThe Orlando Guardians acquired Thompson's XFL playing rights on August 3, 2023.[17] He signed with the team on October 30.[18] The Guardians folded when the XFL and USFL merged to create the United Football League (UFL).[19]
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
editOn January 30, 2024, Thompson signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL).[20] He was released on May 12, 2024.[21]
References
edit- ^ Rod Walker. "Mr. Football: Landry-Walker quarterback Keytaon Thompson makes his mark on and off the field". NOLA.com. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
- ^ Rod Walker. "Landry-Walker's Keytaon Thompson wins Gatorade Player of the Year award". NOLA.com. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
- ^ Mike Barber. "Coach who faced new UVA QB Keytaon Thompson says he could be better than Bryce Perkins". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
- ^ "Early Commit: QB Keytaon Thompson to Mississippi State". ESPN.com. December 19, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
- ^ Sammon, Will. "Mississippi State invests in present by playing true freshman quarterback Keytaon Thompson". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
- ^ "TaxSlayer Bowl: Freshman Keytaon Thompson leads Mississippi State past Louisville". Los Angeles Times. December 31, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
- ^ Smits, Garry. "A star is born: Mississippi State freshman out-duels Heisman winner in TaxSlayer Bowl". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
- ^ "QB Thompson transfers from Miss. St. to Virginia". ESPN.com. May 1, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
- ^ Horka, Tyler. "Mississippi State quarterback Keytaon Thompson transfers to Virginia". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
- ^ "He was signed as a quarterback, but after an injury Virginia's Keytaon Thompson excels in new role". Daily Press. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
- ^ Greg Madia. "The making of a 'football player': How Keytaon Thompson became UVa's do-it-all star". The Daily Progress. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
- ^ "'Things worked out for the best' for Keytaon Thompson at UVA". Augustafreepress.com. July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
- ^ "We haven't yet seen the best out of Virginia wideout Keytaon Thompson". Augustafreepress.com. April 8, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
- ^ "2023 NFL Draft Scout Keytaon Thompson College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
- ^ "Lions sign three 2023 NFL Draft selections". DetroitLions.com. May 12, 2023.
- ^ "Lions agree to terms with the Jacksonville Jaguars to acquire K Riley Patterson via trade". detroitlions.com. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
- ^ "XFL Transactions". www.xfl.com. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
- ^ "Five players sign letters of intent with XFL". XFL.com. October 30, 2023. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
- ^ Seifert, Kevin (January 1, 2024). "Newly formed United Football League sets 8 markets, tabs coaches". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ^ "Transactions - Football Player Trades and Signings". CFL.ca. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
- ^ "Keytaon Thompson". Footballdb.com. Retrieved August 11, 2024.