Jordan HammChad DeGrenier knows the quarterback position.
He was an Arena League signal-caller and has coached some quality gunslingers in the past.
Now, as the head coach of the Mesquite Wildcats, he sees another young signal-caller who could be a playmaker in the making in his sophomore quarterback Ty Thompson.
“Ty, he’s just a competitor. When you have that position at quarterback, you want a guy that’s going to compete every day,” DeGrenier said. “He competes in the weight room; he’s gained 25 pounds since he got here as a freshman, grew a couple inches. He just attacks the weight room, he attacks the field. He attacks the academics, he is a 4.2 student. Everything he does, he competes at.”
Thompson, who stands at 6-foot-4, and 200 pounds, already has a quiet confidence about him as he steps into the starting quarterback role.
“I like to bring intensity, hype my players up, keep the energy positive,” Thompson said. “I like to be humble too and not be all showy but make big plays too.”
Work, work, work @ty_thompson7 #QB #Mesquite pic.twitter.com/WjmpJ4gVI9
— Phillip Aholt (@SdaleKid) August 11, 2018
A solid receiving corps can certainly help any quarterback, and the Wildcats have quite a few options to make plays. Junior Jacob Walker is the team’s leading returner at the receiver position along with Holden Owen, who has 156 yards and two scores as a junior last year.
“Jacob Walker, and then you have Cole Lester, who came on strong at the end of the year at running back,” DeGrenier said. “Holden Owen was more of a defensive player last year and you saw him catching a ton of balls. He’s just got great hands. The nice thing for Ty is he has some guys to throw to, so that’s going to be fun for him and the offense.”
And Thompson is already building a strong relationship with Walker.
“I love my relationship with my receivers,” Thompson said. “I love my receiver Jacob and I like talking to him. Having a skilled receiver like that as my good friend and my #1 receiver, it’s golden.”
