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Turbulent Journey Leads West Florida Transfer DT Jaden Thompson to Robert Morris

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3 weeks ago

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Former West Florida defensive tackle, Robert Morris commit Jaden Thompson -- Courtesy of Jaden Thompson

The grind to become a Division-I football player is never an easy one.

That sentiment remained true during new Robert Morris defensive tackle Jaden Thompson’s journey to the Division-I level as he went from all of the way from the JUCO level to Division-II before eventually transferring to Robert Morris this offseason.

Not only was Thompson overlooked coming out of high school, hence the stop in JUCO, he went through a life-changing experience that nearly ended his football career while playing Division-II football.

Following Thompson’s graduation from Griffin High School, which is located in Georgia, he took his talents to the west coast as he enjoyed a breakout freshman season at Los Angeles Valley College. In his lone season at Valley, Thompson recorded 32 tackles, 2.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and nine tackles for loss.

After making a name for himself down the stretch part of the season, bigger opportunities came calling and Thompson packed his bags for the sunshine of Florida as he transferred to Division-II West Florida. Unfortunately, a blood clot would sideline him from the game.

“Going through JUCO, it got hard but it really taught me how to really grind for it,” Thompson said. “During 2024, I had a blood clot so I couldn’t really play so when I got to West Florida but I still worked hard, worked on my craft, on my footwork and eventually got better.”

While Thompson worked to get healthy, he never got to play for West Florida as a communication issue with the team’s head coach ultimately led him to being dropped from the roster.

“I used that moment to learn because he told me to look in the mirror and make sure that this is what I really want to do,” Thompson said. “I am learning from that moment and working on bettering my communication skills and actually committing to being the best person that I can be and the best football player that I can be.”

Most coaches would stay away from a player that was once completely dropped from a team but Robert Morris head coach Bernard Clark Jr. and newly hired defensive line coach Derrick Nsubuga are not most coaches.

“Going into the portal, I got a couple of offers and I was going through my options as it was getting late in the process,” Thompson said. “I was getting to a point where I was going to commit but I just kept on praying because I knew there was a better opportunity.”

That better opportunity did not necessarily come to Thompson but rather he seeked it out as the relationship between he and Robert Morris started when he decided to direct message Nsubuga. To Thompson’s surprise, Nsubuga answered which eventually led to a recruitment process, an official visit and Thompson’s commitment.

During those conversations, the situation at West Florida was brought up but both sides came to a firm resolution and saw that the best way forward was with each other.

“Coach Su, the new defensive line coach for Robert Morris, I had talked to him and the head coach, they both understand both perspectives and they wanted to help me get better and they know that I am learning for this moment.”

Now with his journey in perspective and a newfound outlook on the game and life, Thompson has goals that he wants to accomplish while at Robert Morris which include improving on the Colonials’ top-ranked defense from a year ago, earning all-conference honors and much more.

“Coming to Division-I, to Robert Morris, with three to four years of eligibility, I think that I have a lot of time to develop and become elite, an All-American, First-Team All-Conference and hopefully go to the league,” Thompson said. “Coming in, I am definitely going to focus more, spend more time after hours and in the weight room and also on the field. I want to continue to lose weight and get more explosive as I think that I am a very productive defensive tackle. I think I can definitely help the stats rise even more but I just got to go through the summer training and then go through fall camp and continue to work hard.”

Thompson carries a mindset that a fifth-year senior would but he still has multiple years of eligibility remaining. That is something that Thompson worked on throughout the years as he knows that instilling good habits now will only pay off as he gets older and more experienced.

“Even though I am young, I want to carry myself as an older player because that will help me and prepare me for times when I do get older,” Thomson said. “It is good to instill good habits for when you are young so when you do get older, it comes regularly to you and then you can continue to excel and get one percent better every day. That’s my motto, get one percent better everyday.”

While he, like many others that stepped foot before him, underwent a lot to get to the place that they are now, Thompson is a changed man and player due to the lessons that he learned throughout his career and looks to use that knowledge to his advantage at Robert Morris.

RELATED: Former Central Valley Star QB Ameer Dudley Coming Back Home, Transfers to Robert Morris

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