Top tight end Thompson commits to Gators

By Adam Silverstein
May 5, 2011

With more than 20 offers on the table, four-star tight end Colin Thompson (Warminster, PA) had trimmed his list down to three and already informed the college of his choice that he would be attending their institution either in the summer or in the fall. On Thursday, Thompson made his decision official, announcing at Archbishop Wood Catholic High School that he has committed to play for the Florida Gators next season.

One of the top tight ends in the 2012 recruiting cycle, Thompson chose Florida over Wisconsin and Boston College, the other schools in his final three.

At 6’5” and 255 lbs., he is the big, physical tight end that offensive coordinator Charlie Weis was undoubtedly looking for. Thompson has good hands and can also successfully block on rushing and passing downs.

“They tell me they need me at the tight end position because they don’t have anyone like me on their roster, more of a pro-style tight end,” he told InsideTheGators.com on April 25. “I talked with Coach Weis and he pretty much reiterated the whole thing.”

Speaking with BadgerNation.com, which got the early exclusive on his commitment, Thompson said Weis’s potential influence on his career was a huge factor.

“If you are a Pennsylvania tight end, you are a big man and you want to play for Charlie Weis, that’s what you do,” he said. “I liked him the first day I met him. He’s the type of guy that even though he has four Super Bowl rings, he doesn’t talk about himself, he doesn’t bring out the rings and he makes the conversation about you.

“When we talked, he put his cell phone on silent and missed calls from Bill Belichick and Jimmy Clausen, and he wasn’t showing off about it at all. With Charlie, he’s a good guy and one thing that did appeal to me is Charlie’s son is a senior in high school and going to be a freshman at Florida next year. So, Charlie’s not going anywhere, which is going to be great to have him there for the next five years.”

Thompson, the Gators’ 10th commitment already for 2012, previously expressed to Rivals.com that he has grown close with Weis, tight ends coach Derek Lewis and head coach Will Muschamp. All three coaches spoke with him extensively when he visited the University of Florida from April 20-22.

Photo Credit: Unknown

19 Comments

  1. npgator says:

    GREAT PICK UP! Welcome to the Gator Nation!

  2. scooterp says:

    “Charlie”??? Does he address all his coaches by first name?

  3. Alex says:

    Haha, how much do you want to bet that Charlie has an assistant coach in his phone as “Bill Belicheck?” I would say the same about Jimmy Clausen, but I think you’d pick somebody good if you were going to fake a QB calling you.

  4. Marc Mac says:

    “missed calls from Bill Belichick and Jimmy Clausen”……. How convenient. What a great recruiting tool.

  5. Timmy T says:

    Welcome to Gator Nation Colin! Work hard, play hard, we’ll love you forever.

  6. DCgator says:

    Great get for Weis. Thompson had an offer list a mile long and between him, Reed and Leonard, we’re going to be ridiculously stacked at TE for a couple years.

  7. Gio Showtime says:

    Whatever happened to Gerald Christian, #2 TE in the nation. True definition of a bust!! Now he’s playing LB/TE.. We definitely needed Thompson.

    • a) You can’t be a bust after one season of redshirting. b) He’s moved back to tight end…the linebacker thing was an experiment. c) You need more than one tight end and Thompson is a completely different type of TE than Christian. I could keep going but that should answer your question.

      • Gio Showtime says:

        I should rephrase that then: We have potential bust on our hands. I heard a lot more buzz about AC Leonard during the spring then Christian, which is not good, especially when the the battle for #2 (behind Reed) is suppose to be wide open.

        • Justin says:

          way to prove your ignorance. Its always good to get high character, high talent recruits to challenge the veterans for a starting spot.
          Also, there’s no point in wasting your time on all the wonderful things the coaches said to a recruit. They wouldn’t be coming if coach said “your not as good as what we’ve got, we’re going change your position and never let you start.” All we need to know is this kid appears to have the talent, size and ambition to be a productive TE for Florida. In 2012-13 and beyond, we’ll see if he’s any better than what we’ve got and if he really is the #1 prostyle TE in the Nation

        • Alex says:

          Dude, let’s get the kid in a few games before you pronounce him a bust. Some people, man.

  8. DGLBKGATORFAN says:

    Good pick up gators look like they will have a great class this coming year

  9. Maureen troy says:

    Good luck with weis, he’s the biggest ass on the face of the earth. Notre dame can’t thank you enough for getting him out of south bend. He pulled that patriot stuff with brady quinn and jimmy clausen, got a lot out of that relationship.

  10. Kincaide says:

    Maureen ?? Weis was at KC last year doing an amazing transformation of a poor offensive team.Granted Notre Dame didn’t work out but look at his defense and inability to get big time recruits across the board… Kinda cold up there not like the SEC and NC’s every year.

  11. gator says:

    Moron is a Female State Underachiever,he must be conflicted with his Sexuality. Losser

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