By CHRIS CHRISTOPHER
Ocean Township High School senior standout Tyler Thompson has verbally committed to the University of Massachusetts to continue his football career, Ocean coach Don Klein announced.
“He will take his official visit there the weekend of Jan. 29 and sign his National Letter of Intent on Feb. 3 at Ocean,” Klein said.
In almost four full varsity seasons (he missed part of his junior year because of a broken leg), Thompson scored 57 touchdowns–53 rushing, three receiving and one punt return). He piled up 5,419 yards of total offense on 851 touches, averaging 6.4 yards per touch.
The Spartans’ speedster was a four-time All Shore Conference Class B North selection. He was twice named the Class B North Offensive Player of the Year.
He was a three-time All-Shore selection, making the second team as a sophomore, third team as a junior and first team as a senior. He was a three-time All-Monmouth County selection and a first team All-State Group III choice last fall.
Thompson is the first Shore Conference player since Middletown South’s Knowshon Moreno to rush for more than 1,000 yards as a freshman. Moreno, who has played for the Denver Broncos and the Miami Dolphins, starred for the University of Georgia.
As a freshman, Thompson rushed for 1,005 yards and nine touchdowns on 183 carries He averaged 5.5 yards per carry. He caught seven passes for 33 yards, averaging 4.7 yards per catch.
As a sophomore, Thompson sped for 1,481 yards and 18 touchdowns on 221 cracks at the line. He averaged 6.7 yards per carry. He hauled in five passes for 90 yards and one touchdown, averaging 18 yards per catch.
During his junior season, Thompson shredded defenses for 808 yards and five touchdowns on 167 carries. He averaged 4.8 yards per carry. He gathered in 16 passes for 144 yards, averaging 9.0 yards per catch.
He closed his career with 1,572 yards and 21 touchdowns on 235 attempts, averaging 6.7 yards per carry. He caught 17 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 16.8 yards per catch.
Thompson rushed for 4,866 yards and 52 touchdowns on 806 carries, averaging 6.1 yards per carry. He caught 45 passes for 553 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 12.3 yards per catch.
