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LOGAN — "He's a weapon."
I'll give you three guesses as to whom Matt Wells is talking about.
First guess ... wrong. Second guess ... nope. Third guess ... not even close.
He's talking about "the dadgum kicker," freshman Jake Thompson.
Thompson has taken over the kickoff duties for the Aggies this season. He is a Cache Valley native and played his high school ball at Logan High. He was first team all-state his junior year, helping the Grizzlies win the 4A state championship. His senior year, he was an Army All-American Bowl Nominee.
He's a weapon.
–Matt Wells
In his debut as an Aggie, he averaged 64.3 yards per kickoff, with two of them going out of the end zone. The Utes average starting point for his kickoffs was the 22.5 yard line. This trend continued against Air Force.
"You got nine kickoffs and the one they do bring out, he's got 4.3 (seconds) hang time and we get a stop at the 16 yard line."
So far, 11 of Thompson's 15 kickoffs have been for touchbacks. Granted, the two games he has played in have been in elevation, and we all know how much the ball likes to travel in thin air. But he'll have his chance to kick at a little lower altitude soon enough, with USC and San Jose State mere weeks away.
"He's been really, really solid the last two games," Wells said. "That helps the defense out tremendously."
