It is always a big deal when a head coach pulls in the biggest recruit of his tenure. That is the situation here with Eli Drinkwitz adding to Mizzou’s class of 2022 with 4-star safety Isaac Thompson. Thompson picked the Tigers over a slew of other schools both inside and outside the SEC, including Arkansas, Florida, Michigan, and Texas.
By Steve Wright
The St. Louis University High School standout is a huge win for Drinkwitz, especially as much of his recruiting effort has gone into hitting the St. Louis and Kansas City metro areas where he is trying to keep the cream of the Missouri talent in the state.
Thompson is a two-way player in high school and he projects as a safety at the next level. The 4-star prospect is the No. 157 player in the class per the 247Sports Composite Rankings, the No. 11 player at the safety position, and the No. 4 player in Missouri. At 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, Thompson has the range to defend the beep ball and the size to come up into the box and make a hit on a running back. He has the hybrid build that all college coaches are looking to make a part of their defense with the way college football is played today. Alongside fellow 4-star safety Xavier Nwankpa out of Altoona, Iowa, the Tigers now have two of the top 11 safeties in the class.
The attributes that stand out in Thompson’s film are his athleticism, his physicality, and his reading of the game. He is never afraid to make a hit – be it a block or a tackle – and he gets great breaks on the ball in the air because of how good he is at reading a quarterback’s eyes. He also has quick and snappy movement – both reactionary and planned – meaning that if he does get his hands on the ball he is likely to come up with a sizeable return.
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