BY JESSE SMITHEY
Jayzon Thompson and Tyreek King made the choice an impossible one.
The sophomores were that good in 2023; they were that vital to their teams’ successes.
So to set one apart from the other would not be proper.
After all, they are cousins who are as tight as brothers.
Thompson, a standout running back at Bearden, and King, the breakout wideout receiver from Catholic, share the honor of 5Star Preps Offensive Underclassman of the Year.
And here’s why…
Jeremy Cox, Thrivent Financial
THOMPSON’S TALE
Jayzon Thompson and the Bearden Bulldogs hosted the Farragut Admirals for a TSSAA Region 2-6A matchup on Bill Young Field on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Bearden won 21-14. (Photo by Danny Parker)
Thompson’s role was more of an all-purpose athlete as a freshman in 2022 than star running back.
But heading into this past fall, the 5-foot-10, 180-pound Thompson and senior Jaheim Merriweather would be the 1-2 punch out of Bearden’s backfield that would power the Bulldogs’ offense and carry their postseason hopes deep into the 2023 Class 6A playoffs. The passing game would simply complement the ground game that could go as many as four deep and hardly miss a beat.
By Week 5, though, that plan got crumpled up and tossed into the corner trash can.
Merriweather, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound Purdue commit sustained a lingering injury Sept. 15 at Hardin Valley, and Thompson assumed the lead role and a heavy dose of carries in the games to come.
Thompson finished that win over HVA with 17 carries for 171 yards and three scores.
The next week (Sept. 21), he ran 31 times for 136 yards and three scores — the last of which was a 36-yarder that helped an injury ridden Bearden defeat Farragut 21-14.
“There were some games last year, middle part of our season, where he was carrying it 25 and 30 times per game with a 180-pound frame. That’s not easy to do. I was so impressed,” Bearden coach Josh Jones said. “He never missed a practice. He never missed a game.
“Obviously, if you watched us from Week 5 on, pretty much our whole offense went through him. And, he was durable and he loved it. We played against some really good teams. And as the games wore on, he got stronger.”
He ran 27 times in Bearden’s next contest (Sept. 29), amassing 197 yards and three rushing touchdowns as Bearden topped Maryville for the first time since 1993.
Thompson added another three-TD night after the Maryville win, propelling Bearden to a win at Cleveland with 28 carries for 159 yards.
All the carries proved somewhat taxing on Thompson; but, he was up to the challenge.
“The recovery, Triple F got me right. But it was hard. But I knew I had to get the job done. I was ready for whatever (each week),” Thompson said. “I knew I was going to have to step up sooner or later in the season. But my mindset changed a lot (to handle the workload).”
All told, Thompson ran for 1,450 yards and 21 touchdowns as a sophomore, averaging 19.7 carries per game during the Bearden (9-4) run to the Class 6A state quarterfinals. He earned Region 2-6A Underclassman of the Year.
Memphis, Ole Miss, Purdue, West Virginia, Marshall, Miami-Ohio, Austin Peay and UT-Martin are the early college football programs to have offered Thompson.
That list will continue to swell as Thompson furthers his frame and makes the rounds this spring.
“I have to keep working and stay focused,” Thompson said. “I can’t let anything bring me down from here.”
KING’S BREAKOUT SEASON
Sophomore wide receiver Tyreek King (7) and the Knoxville Catholic Fighting Irish hosted the Lakeway Lions for a non-region contest on Hollin Field at Dorman Blaine Stadium on Friday, Aug. 18, 2023, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Catholic won 35-0. (Photo by Danny Parker)
You could almost see the storm coming in King.
Following a freshman campaign in the Fall of 2022 that featured him going for 468 yards receiving, the highlight-reel catches by King from the spring 7-on-7 circuits started coming — and didn’t stop.
King was coming into his own as a star receiver and Power 5 prospect, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.
Moreover, playing opposite of senior wideout Braylon Harmon in Catholic’s offense would keep defenses honest and allow King to roam freely in the Fall of 2023. And having a junior quarterback (Jayden Neal) with two years of starting experience to his credit would again give King a seasoned thrower with accuracy, arm strength and know-how.
By the end of King’s sophomore season, the 6-foot, 170-pounder had caught 63 passes in 13 games, posting 1,060 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.
“In all my years of coaching, with the opponents and the players I’ve had — and I’ve been blessed to have some really good ones — he is the most advanced route runner as a sophomore in high school that I’ve ever seen,” Catholic coach Philip Shadowens said. “He’s worked really hard to get in and out of breaks and set up routes.
“And his top-end spend is phenomenal — in the 4.4 range. So I haven’t seen a sophomore as talented as Tyreek King.”
On Nov. 3, the Fighting Irish got their first playoff win in Division II-AAA play since joining that classification level in 2019.
The next week, King had nine catches for 159 yards and two touchdowns in Catholic’s quarterfinal win over Memphis University School. Catholic then pushed Baylor for four quarters in the state semifinals but fell short, 49-35.
King had six catches for 87 yards and a touchdown in that contest. He even had two tackles. King is expected to be a wideout in college, but there’s still a chance he could play defensive back at the next level, too. So he began exploring that position at times in 2023, playing situationally against elite opponents. He wound up with seven tackles, two pass breakups and an interception.
Tennessee, Ole Miss, Auburn, Michigan State, Purdue, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Arkansas and Kentucky are some of the Power 5 schools that have offered King midway through his prep career.
Regardless, King is just focusing on improving at this juncture in his high school timeline.
Making sure he gets his frame up to around 180 pounds so he doesn’t get bumped off his routes down the field is his next step in preparing for the transition to lead receiver at Catholic and, ultimately, a college wideout.
That comes with natural body maturity and weight-room efforts as a player like King ages, Shadowens said.
And King is working.
“I’m trying to get my body right to get ready for the season, so I can lead the team to victory. I have to play that role since Braylon will be gone. He was that guy,” said King.
“Now I have to be that guy.”