Sam Thompson: The Journey of a Student-Athlete from Tennessee to the Top of the Records Book

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – As a kid playing high school football in Alcoa, Tennessee, Sam Thompson never imagined being among the national leaders in any statistical category on the college level.  Thompson, who recently finished his junior season with the Carnegie Mellon football team, ended the campaign ranked second in Division III with seven interceptions.  Not only have his accomplishments ranked him nationally for the year, Thompson's name also appears in Carnegie Mellon's records book, as he tied the single-season mark for interceptions.

"It is unbelievable that I ended the regular season ranked tied for second in all of Division III," commented Thompson.  "It is hard to imagine that out of all the schools in the country, I ranked where I did.  I try not to get that caught up in it and just play the game."

The road leading up to this year was a tough one for the mechanical engineering major.  In the second game of the 2010 season, Thompson went down with an injury.  When it first happened, he was unaware of the extent of the injury.

"It hurt and I went down immediately. After about two minutes the pain subsided.  I was checked out by the athletic trainers and one of the team physicians on the sideline and was cleared to play the second half," Thompson said.

During the second half of the game, Thompson held his own on the field, despite feeling a bit of physical instability at times.  After the game his father, also a physician, looked at his knee and was optimistic. The following Monday morning, Thompson went in to see Dr. Robin West, the team's orthopaedic surgeon, and she informed him that he might have slightly torn his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).  Following his MRI results two days later, the defensive back found out it was completely torn and surgery was needed.  

"I never had a major injury prior to tearing my ACL, I was sort of under the mindset that I was almost invincible. It changed my perspective of the game and I started approaching the game a bit differently," Thompson said.  "It allowed me to focus a lot more on what I was doing on the field from a technical standpoint. I knew that I was not fully recovered and had not regained the speed I had prior to the injury. If I wanted to get back to where I was, I knew I needed to put my focus on the basics and work really hard."

Thompson added that it would have been a great season from an individual standpoint if he ended with three interceptions, but the junior had two straight games in University Athletic Association play where he combined for four interceptions.

"Four combined in two straight University Athletic Association games makes the feeling that much better," added Thompson.

The Carnegie Mellon football program has Thompson's aunt and uncle to thank for the Tennessee native coming to Pittsburgh.  Thompson didn't know anything about the university until the summer before his senior year in high school and that is when his relatives mentioned the university.

"My aunt and uncle mentioned that it was a good school and from there Coach Lackner started contacting me and recruiting me," Thompson said.

After having long talks with Head Coach Rich Lackner, Thompson knew Carnegie Mellon would be the place he called home the next four years – not only because of the football tradition but also for the respect the school has on a national level.

"One of the big reasons I came to Carnegie Mellon was to play football and because this program was a winning program. That was one of the biggest attractions.  It feels good to continue the tradition of winning and legacy of excellence," Thompson said. "Coach Lackner makes everything run in the football program.  He is a tireless recruiter.  He is great with people and really cares about his players."  

Prior to committing to Carnegie Mellon, Thompson applied for a Naval ROTC scholarship.  He was not dead set on ROTC but it worked out that Carnegie Mellon had a unit for the Navy and already had a good connection with the football program which made it a unique situation.

"Both my grandfathers served in the military – Army and Navy. My two older brothers went to the Naval Academy.  That is what really exposed me to either going to the Academy or into an ROTC program," Thompson said.  "I have always been interested in the military and all that it stands for."

After discussions with his brothers and visiting them at the Academy, he decided not to follow directly in their footsteps.  Thompson decided that Carnegie Mellon and Naval ROTC would be a better route for him to go. Since Thompson is on scholarship through the NROTC program, he is required to serve a minimum of four years of active duty after graduating from Carnegie Mellon.  

Thompson will be serving his four years in the U.S. Marine Corps – his experience during his first three years of NROTC and Carnegie Mellon helped him make the decision of wanting to become a pilot in the Marines, likely extending his service to eight years.  He will then see where that leads him and believes it will allow many more doors to open in his life.

Off the field, Thompson is active in the school community.  He is part of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Carnegie Mellon.  Thompson, fellow football teammate Andrew Medenbach, former cross country runner Justin Kurp and swimmer Sarah Musial, along with other Carnegie Mellon students, helped get things off the ground for Carnegie Mellon's FCA in the fall of 2009.  
 
With everything going on in Thompson's life, he finds plenty of time for his academic pursuits.  He carries a 3.93 GPA and recently was named to the Capital One Academic All-District Team. Thompson is waiting to find out if he will be named to the All-America team in December.