Michigan State DE Jalen Thompson learning fast, playing fast this spring; ‘He’s really mature’
East Lansing, Mich. – Jalen Thompson didn’t need to spend last spring at Michigan State to see the field early in his career.
Thompson missed out on last year’s spring practices becaue he chose to enroll at Michigan State during the summer. But Thompson showed enough during the fall to play eight games as a true freshman, earning the trust of the coaching staff along the way.
Now in the midst of his first full offseason in East Lansing, Thompson has impressed Michigan State’s new coaches just the same.
“I think Jalen is like an old soul, man,” said Michigan State defensive line coach Legi Suiaunoa. “Just the way he approaches everything. He’s really, really, really mature. Just academically, everything he does is elite as a person. I think that approach has given him the opportunity to be a little bit ahead of some of the guys in his class.
“And then physical attributes, you don’t find too many freshmen who walk into a college building with a college body, college weight. And then obviously the physicality that he plays with. So we’re super fired up that he’s here. We’re going to be super fired about him moving forward. I think he’ll probably be a name that’s going to fly around this place for a long time.”
Thompson learned a lot in 211 defensive snaps last season. Michigan State’s coaching staff thrusted the Detroit native into a starting role ahead of the Nebraska game. He proceeded to start the next three games, including the season finale at his hometown NFL stadium, Ford Field.
“I didn’t expect it to happen as fast as it did, but when it happened, I was ready,” Thompson said of earning a starting role. “l was prepared.”
Thompson finished the season with 19 total tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Still, he felt like he could’ve played better at times.
“There were plays where I didn’t perform my best, where I wasn’t able to do what I wanted,” Thompson said. “But (I just reminded myself to) be where my feet are – next play, get up and play the game.”
Thompson now has two months of winter conditioning and three weeks of spring ball under his belt. He has noticed himself playing faster and more comfortable as a result.
“I definitely feel like I’m playing a lot faster than last year,” Thompson said. “Last year I was kind of slow. Not necessarily anxious, but I was just kind of aware of everything. Now it’s like I know what I’m doing, I know what it takes and I kind of got the tempo. Now I can play at a faster pace.”
Transitioning to a new Michigan State coaching staff
Thompson has also become acclimated with Michigan State’s new coaching staff this offseason.
Thompson first heard about Michigan State’s plan to hire Jonathan Smith the night of Nov. 24, when he got back to campus from Ford Field. From then on, it was all about establishing a relationship with Smith and his staff.
“I just feel like when coach Smith came in, he had good reviews,” Thompson said. “Everybody said he was a good head coach. And when he came in, he sat down with all the guys, just talking to us individually. He just told us to give him an opportunity. (Coach) came in trying to build trust. He did activities with us and stuff like that, and that made me feel like, ‘OK, I’m going to get my opportunity to build trust with him.’”
Thompson learned more about Smith as a person and as a coach during their meeting. He also learned what Smith thought of him as a player.
“He basically told me how he sees me fitting into their system, what I can do for this team,” Thompson said, recalling his first meeting with Smith. “Basically that he still wanted me here.”
Smith remained diligent in getting to know his players during his first few months at Michigan State.
“Anytime you need to talk to him (Smith), you can go upstairs and talk to him,” Thompson said. “There’s an open-door policy. (He broke) us off to meet all the other coaches as well so everybody could get to know each other. And they came in right away, just knowing our names and everything. It just made you feel welcome.”
“I would say coach Smith is a man of his word,” Thompson continued. “Ever since he stepped in the door, everything he said he was going to do, he did.”
Photo by Dane Robison for SpartanMag.com.
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