STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- It's the kind of catch that gets added to DeAndre Thompkins' budding highlight reel, this one an example of playing until the whistle and making one heck of an effort while doing so.
"It was probably one of the more spectacular catches that I’ve seen since I’ve been here," said Josh Gattis, Penn State wide receiver's coach. "It really showed DeAndre’s competitive nature to continue to fight for that ball on the way down."
The Nittany Lions' redshirt junior is playing at such a high level that Gattis said on Thursday Thompkins is "probably playing at the best level in our room from a consistency standpoint." From Thompkins' physicality a a blocker in the run game -- something James Franklin said is one of the biggest overall improvements with the receiving corps from this year to last -- to his blistering speed, there's a lot for Penn State to like from the receiver who has 18 catches for 239 yards and one touchdown this season.
While his statistics are far from eye-popping, Gattis said Thompkins' overall impact far exceeds what's listed on the stat sheet.
A player who essentially is in a timeshare with senior Saeed Blacknall, Thompkins' upside is apparent and even dating back to last season when he had arguably the catch of the year against Pitt, Thompkins continues making the case that the Lions' speedy punt returner is also blossoming into quite the receiver.
"He's got one more year and will finish up this year, but I think he's going to continue making a ton of big plays for us," Gattis said. "You think about last year before he got injured in a game, going up through six games into the season he's our leading receiver I believe. He's played a ton of football, made a ton of plays and really pleased with how far he's come as a pure receiver."
Getting Thompkins to this point has been as much about what's transpired behind the scenes with the strength staff as it is with what he does with his opportunities on Saturdays. An explosive, 4-star athlete coming out of high school in North Carolina, Thompkins' speed was his best asset, but Gattis didn't see that speed translate from the timed 40-yard dash to the football field.
Thompkins played a bit of receiver in high school, but also was a Wildcat quarterback and really didn't have much experience in the weight room until he got to college. Listed at 165 pounds when he arrived as a January enrollee, it took weight gains, strength improvements and an improved understanding of the position for Thompkins to arrive at this point.
"He just physically wasn't strong enough to play outside," Gattis recalled. "We initially started playing him up inside. But we've seen the guy develop. I would say when DeAndre came in his weakness was physicality in the game of football. He wasn't a very strong blocker at the point of attack and I think DeAndre has taken his greatest weakness and turned into one of his greatest strengths. You see him out there constantly on Saturdays dominating blocks on the perimeter, creating explosive plays in the pass games not only with his ability but with his blocking. That's a guy that's put in tremendous work with our strength coaches, coach [Dwight] Galt and his staff and a guy that's really developed. He really cares about being great."
While many pegged Blacknall as a candidate for a breakout year in his senior season, the player who was the darling of the Big Ten title game has largely gone unnoticed. Blacknall has 11 catches for 187 yards and one touchdown and has been out performed by Thompkins. Fans wondering why Blacknall hasn't made the types of splash plays expected this season largely can look to Thompkins' gains, plus this offense where it's predicated on matchups and gives different receivers the chance to step up every week. Making sure the best receivers are on the field is Gattis' job and with a loaded meeting room those decisions aren't always easy, he said.
"Nothing to discredit Saeed and his play," Gattis said. "I think DeAndre Thompkins is playing at an extremely high level. I think he's our best pure wide receiver when you start thinking about guys and their overall sill set and how fast and how good he is with the ball in his hands and obviously people have seen the impact he's made in the punt return game but how much he's developed as a receiver. And I think that's what makes the situation a little bit harder with Saeed. Saeed's a great player. I think Saeed has a tremendous skill set and he's made a ton of plays for us, but unfortunately with him and DeAndre splitting those reps at Z [receiver] we've just got an overloaded room with a lot of talent. I'm not down on Saeed."
Thompkins can play all three receiver spots for Penn State and his football IQ continues to impress his position coach, too. It's no surprise then that Thompkins' best friend on the team is noted football junkie John Reid, the injured cornerback whose penchant for film study and his seriousness, business-like approach about the game makes the two a good pair. They regularly help each other out by pointing out the tendencies and weaknesses in the other's game and when Thompkins reeled off a punt return early this season no one was happier for him than his beaming teammate whose spot as the punt returner Thompkins filled quite well so far this season.
And now, when Gattis watches film of Thompkins he sees the same speed and explosiveness with the pads on as he does when the Lions do their testing in shorts in T-shirts. He's not the only one who sees it.
"He's blessed with tremendous speed," Gattis said. "He plays at a different speed on the field and it shows up on film and other teams notice it. I'm really pleased with how far he's come."
QUICK HITS
Other highlights from Gattis' call with the media:
• On the impact of an early signing period:
"I think what it did happen in college football this year is it forced a lot kids to make decisions earlier," Gattis said. "I think that was a trend across college football, kids committing throughout the summer knowing they were going to get involved with their regular season at their high school and they were going to end up signing early. That's one of the things that we see in a lot of kids that we're recruiting. It's just bettered the process and now next year it's going to be a different change because official visits are going to start happening in the spring. So I think we're getting to a new era of college football recruiting. It's something that everybody tries to understand as we go through it the first time around, but we're excited for the early signing period. Obviously we wish we had more scholarships. I think that's the one thing throughout this whole thing that we understand that we wish we could take everybody but unfortunately we can't. And with the recent success that we continue to have, you've got a lot of people excited about Penn State football."
• On the development of the Lions' three freshmen receivers who are in line for redshirts:
"It excites you when you think about KJ [Hamler] and Mac [Hippenhammer] and also Cam Sullivan-Brown," Gattis said. "I think all three have unique traits that they’re going to bring to the table. KJ obviously, his speed. I think he’s a difference maker with his speed and his quickness and his shiftiness in space. He’s a guy that could possibly be our fastest wide receiver on the field. He’s a guy that has confidence in his ability and in his ability to run routes. … Mac is a guy that once he continues to physically develop he’s got a great skill set. He’s a very skilled wide receiver and reminds me a lot of DeAndre Thompkins. He can play inside and outside and is a very advanced route runner. He’s a guy that can run any route that we ask him and work his releases. I’m really excited about those guys as well as Cam Sullivan-Brown, who I think is going to have a very bright future for us. He’s a kid who is very mature. He really had a great camp. I’m excited about all three of those guys."
• On the most common misconception that fans have about football, or about how he does his job:
"Obviously we hear a lot, but I think one thing I would just say and I wouldn’t say it’s the most egregious, but the caution of how much goes into a game plan, how much goes into a Saturday," Gattis said. "The amount of film study our players do the amount of film we do as coaches. Monday nights as an offensive staff we’re in here sometimes until midnight, 1 a.m. getting the game plan and a lot of times you hear everyone has an answer after five minutes of film or one bad play and they got the answer of what you should be doing, but no one knows the process and what it takes to prepare yourself to play on Saturday. ... Sometimes it’s funny and sometimes it’s a very valid point, sometimes they’re really kind of off the wall, but I think the thing the people have to realize is to take a step back and understand the approach and the process that it takes. … The countless hours and minutes that go into preparing our team to be successful on Saturday I think it’s something some people don’t have an understanding of and how much these kids sacrifice throughout the week for that one opportunity in a three-hour span of football that they’re only going to get on Saturday.”