Football: Hard Work, Smarts Define Springdale's Thompson

SPRINGDALE -- Adam Thompson works for his father's plumbing company now, but he wants to be a cardiovascular surgeon down the road.

While the skills needed for the Springdale High senior's current job won't translate to medical school, the work ethic he's developed in high school figures to pay dividends when he graduates and moves on to face the rigors of college.

"That's all I've really got time for is football and work," Thompson said. "There's really no in between."

A typical week in the offseason includes four or five days of work for his father's company at locales such as the University of Arkansas' new Cardinal Apartments or the Har-Ber Meadows neighborhood in Springdale. Putting PVC together is probably the easiest part of the job, but it's all manual labor.

His work week is down to two or three days now the football season is here. It's a senior year Thompson has spent the offseason preparing for diligently while balancing football with his work schedule.

Proof of his dedication is in the sizable gains the 5-foot-11, 255-pounder has made in the weight room.

"Last season, he lost a bunch of weight and got down to about 215 pounds," offensive line coach Trey LaValle said. "But he's about 255, 265 now. But as far as just offseason weight and strength gains, he probably jumped out the most."

He put his new-found strength and size to good use in Springdale's scrimmages against Shiloh Christian and Booneville, grading out better than the rest of the Bulldogs' offensive linemen in an impressive performance.

"He's put that 25 pounds back on in the right way with muscle and his strength's back," coach Shane Patrick said. "And so we expect him to have a great year. He's a good technician, he's a hard-nosed kid and he's smart, doesn't make a lot of mental mistakes. And so we think he'll do well this year."

Thompson is part of a veteran line that has played together for several years. He's one of four returnees with starting experience, joining fellow seniors Daniel Salas, Kaleb Wade and Jose Ambriz to comprise a group that has been through the wars and knows what to expect in the 7A-West.

Thompson focused on fine-tuning his pass blocking in the offseason, working on setting his hips and not leaning down to lunge at defenders.

Springdale will throw the ball more this year with the growth of junior quarterback Fuller Chandler and an influx of talent at receiver. The line will shoulder more responsibility in the run game without graduated all-state running back Deandre Murray, who could turn a bad play into a big gain.

"We've worked on that a lot," Thompson said of passing blocking. "We knew after Deandre was leaving, we don't have another Deandre. But we have to be more able to pass and run. There's a lot more pressure (on the line) this year. Everybody has to execute. There can't be any mistakes across the board, or we will get negative plays."

Thompson hopes his strong showing in the scrimmages carries over to the season opener Friday against Greenwood.

His offseason weight gain put him in a position to have a good senior year, and the potential future surgeon has always excelled at the mental aspect of the game.

"He's very intelligent," Patrick said. "You don't have to explain things. He's not one of those smart guys that aren't smart on the field. He has football sense. He's savvy on the field, but he's also very smart in the classroom."

Sports on 09/04/2014