SE: Showing Resiliency and Savoring Every Moment
Oct 29, 2021 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
This is not meant to be a final appreciation for the career of Kansas State quarterback Skylar Thompson. This is not meant to be a full rundown of how he ranks top 10 in 15 different statistical categories as a Wildcat, either. Those stories will come down the road. There's still a handful of games left in this 2021 season.
And that's what Brad Thompson, Skylar's father, appreciates about the most.
"This is the last round, so I'm just trying to enjoy the process," Brad says. "I'm just enjoying him and the games. The kids are battling their tails off and want to win, and I'm enjoying the process. They're playing collectively good football. At the quarterback position, he's kind of steering the ship. That's been fun to watch.
"I'm so happy, and God willing, he's able to finish his career on the football field. I think it'll be fun."
There was a time not too long ago when this all seem implausible, and for those who witnessed it, and agonized in silence, they remember it too well. The sixth-year senior twisted in pain, the medical staff held his right leg and examined his knee, and head coach Chris Klieman hugged his quarterback's head and pounded his fists on the ground. Life isn't fair, but man, this was cruel.
With 7 minutes, 21 seconds left in the first quarter against Southern Illinois on September 11, Thompson handed off to running back Deuce Vaughn and then attempted to block for the preseason All-American. Then suddenly after a couple steps Thompson fell to the ground. A heap of pain. Non-contact injury. The absolute worst.
But alas, this story features a miraculous turnaround.
Early afternoon sunlight kissed Thompson's helmet as he tossed a soft pass to Vaughn for the game-winning 22-yard catch-and-run touchdown in a 25-24 win at Texas Tech last Saturday. And Thompson jumped and celebrated along with his teammates — something few likely believed possible immediately following the Southern Illinois game.
Each day is a new chapter.
And each chapter is turning into a riveting story.
No quarterback in K-State history has endured or enjoyed a career quite like Thompson. He started out his career as the third-string quarterback. Then he helped his team to a top-10 victory. Then he was a part of a two-quarterback system. Then he had a new head coach. Then he beat Oklahoma. Then the pandemic. Then he missed almost the entire 2020 season with a shoulder injury. Then he was granted a sixth year. Then the comeback. Then the right knee injury. Then another comeback. All under the guidance of Klieman, offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham, and quarterbacks coach Collin Klein, the 2012 Heisman Trophy finalist, who has always helped steer Thompson to solid ground.
"Skylar's done a phenomenal job over two different (significant injuries)," Messingham says. "To his credit, he's never had a day outwardly, where you've felt like, 'Man, that guy's dauber is down.' He's a positive guy that believes things happen for a reason, and he has a trust and faith in why things are happening. He's been very good at it."
Now Thompson's story is almost finished. He will unequivocally go down as one of the top-10 quarterbacks in school history when he leaves the field for the final time. For starters, he's the only player to pass for 6,000 yards and rush for 1,000 more in a career in K-State history. It's a benchmark that only nine other active FBS quarterbacks have been able to reach.
"He's been everything," Klieman says. "I think he's one of the best players in the Big 12."
This kind of stuff doesn't happen in the movies. Take the evening of September 2, 2017, for example. True story: 1998 Heisman trophy runner-up Michael Bishop strolled along the Bill Snyder Family Stadium parking lot and ran into Brad Thompson and his family. Bishop became enthralled with Skylar's story, how the 2015 Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year from Independence, Missouri, did so many great things at Fort Osage High School, and was now a K-State backup quarterback and simply looking for an opportunity to play.
Skylar had three carries for 49 yards but did not attempt a pass in the 55-19 season-opening win over Central Arkansas. Afterward, Skylar walked to the parking lot to see his family. He was shocked to see Bishop standing there talking with his dad.
"The sky's the limit," Bishop told Skylar. "You can write your own story for K-State."
Thompson continues to do exactly that. In the movie "Stranger Than Fiction" the main character spends two hours wondering if he's trapped in a tragedy or a comedy. He keeps track of every moment in a notebook. Thompson keeps track of everything in a playbook, and week by week the sportswriters and fans keep track of the wins, analytics and advanced stats, wondering which way the story will turn.
So, let's talk about statistics. Thompson currently owns the highest passing efficiency rating (164.2) by a quarterback in single-season history and he owns the highest completion percentage (71.42%) by a quarterback in a single season. Currently, he ranks fourth all-time in total yards (7,183), third in passing yards (6,093), fifth in rushing yards by a quarterback (1,090) and fourth in total touchdowns (61). No quarterback in school history has had a lower interception rate (1.96%) in a career, either.
"He'll tell you the same thing, we don't really get into the statistics of it," Brad says. "K-State has had a lot of great quarterbacks. I think Skylar's hope is to be remembered as a kid wo gave his heart and soul to the program and did everything that he could to help them win. He's had an opportunity to work with Collin for six years, and they have a very special relationship.
"Skylar knows the expectations as a quarterback at K-State, and I think he wants to be remembered as one of the great quarterbacks."
More immediate, Thompson comes off the best three-game stretch in his career. He completed 70.7% of his passes for 320 yards and 3 touchdowns against Oklahoma. He completed 65.2% for 206 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception against Iowa State. He completed a career-high 80% for 306 and 1 touchdown at Texas Tech, completing passes to 11 different pass catchers. In the second half, he was 14 of 15, which was the highest completion percentage by a K-State quarterback in a half since Josh Freeman in 2006.
Those three games combined he was 68 of 94 (72.3%) for 832 yards and 6 touchdowns and 1 interception.
"It's something I've been working on for a long time," Thompson says. "I've always believed I've been able to throw the football. The game just feels really slow for me right now."
It's the best three-game stretch by a K-State quarterback since Jake Waters during the final three games of his career in 2014.
"He has a lot of confidence in his body," Klieman says. "You can see over the last three weeks how that confidence has grown with his knee feeling so much better. His arm feels good. He's getting the timing with all these receivers Monday through Friday as opposed to missing the few weeks he did. It was very similar to what he was doing in fall camp, spinning it around and having a lot of confidence. The thing that's fun for me is to talk to him on the sideline or after the game about how the game has slowed down for him, and he sees things so well.
"He's such an accurate thrower and even out of tough platforms or under duress, he finds a way to either step up or slide out and put the ball in a position where kids can make plays. I'm excited about where he's at. I know he's excited about how he's playing, and there's going to be games like we had last Saturday where we have to put it in his hands. I don't know how that's going to play out every week, but we had another part of the game plan that we really went to last Saturday.
"I think he's one of the best players in the Big 12, and you have to let him be that guy and let him play."
It's been building for some time now — before, during and after the injury obstacles. Almost fittingly, his latest performance at Texas Tech was also site of the opening salvo to his career. Thrust onto the field due to an injured starter, Thompson guided the greatest fourth-quarter comeback in K-State history (ESPN listed Texas Tech with a 99.1% win probability) in steering the Wildcats from an 11-point deficit to a 42-35 overtime victory on November 4, 2018 at Jones AT&T Stadium.
Everything moved fast, Thompson stayed cool, and then he enjoyed career highs with 2,315 passing yards and 12 touchdowns while guiding K-State to a bowl game in Klieman's first season in 2019. Then disaster struck against Texas Tech last season when linebacker Rico Jeffers drove Thompson's shoulder into the ground on a late hit that caused Jeffers to be ejected, and that forced Thompson into surgery and months of recovery.
But it's Thompson's propensity to bounce back from adversity and the injuries and everything in between that his father most appreciates.
"It goes back to his shoulder injury and COVID and everything," Brad says. "His mental approach toward everything, he attacked it, and I was proud of that as anything — the way he's matured in his time in the K-State program and his approach toward things. When the second injury hit, I was trying to figure out how I'd have a conversation with my son about that.
"When he had a shot at coming back, there really wasn't a doubt in my mind how he'd attack it. He'd attack it the same way he's attacked these last two or three years. I felt if he could get back there, you just don't know how, he's still healing, but I knew he'd give it everything.
"They're playing pretty good football and the best is yet to come. It's kind of exciting."
K-State sixth-year senior center Noah Johnson still grows glassy-eyed when discussing his part in the Thompson story.
"I consider Skylar one of my best friends and that really started in 2019 when I wasn't even playing," Johnson says. "To have the starting quarterback befriend me at the time, the new kid on the block, it meant a lot. Last year, I felt like we really were starting to connect, and it showed on the field, and then he got hurt, and that was freaking heartbreaking for him. Sitting there talking with him every day, you could tell how much it hurt him not to be out there. When the rule came out that we could get a sixth year back, he was pretty quickly committed to coming back. I said, 'Man, if you're coming back, I'm coming back.' He's a special guy I want to share the field with."
Johnson pauses.
"This year when he went down," he continues, "I can't even describe how I felt at that moment for him, and to see him fight through it, it's been very inspiring."
K-State is 4-3 overall and 1-3 in the Big 12 Conference as it prepares to host TCU, 3-4 and 1-3, in Saturday's homecoming game at 2:30 p.m. at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Thompson threw for 172 yards and a season high-tying 2 touchdowns while rushing 10 times for 68 yards and 1 touchdown in a 24-17 victory the last time he faced the Horned Frogs in 2019 in Manhattan.
The Wildcats' next three opponents — TCU (3-4), Kansas (1-6) and West Virginia (3-4) — are each under .500. Each are also poor against the pass — TCU ranks 119th, West Virginia ranks 96th and Kansas ranks 123rd out of 130 FBS teams. There appears to be ample opportunity for Thompson and the Wildcats. But that would be looking ahead. And Thompson refuses to look too far into the horizon. He has learned to cherish every moment. And he's taking advantage of every opportunity.
"The young kids call him 'old man' now," Brad says. "I laughed and said, 'What comes with that is maturity and insight.' I told him to use it to his advantage and I think he has done so. Once he knew he was going to be able to play again, it's like a switch flipped. He said, 'OK, what do I need to do? What do I need to do?' He was relentless in his rehab. Anything and everything he could do, he did. His teammates were awesome. For him to work that hard, it elevates everybody to do the same."
The countdown is on, and a handful of games remain but Thompson remains focused on the Horned Frogs.
"We've settled into what we need to do during the week to put ourselves into position to win, and that lights a fire inside of you whenever you have that feeling inside, especially that feeling we had in the locker room after the game last Saturday and celebrating with our teammates and coaches," Thompson says. "Just seeing the gratitude and joy on peoples' faces to enjoy a win is big time.
"That's something that's contagious and it's something we want to feel again."
Each day is a new chapter.
And each chapter is turning into a riveting story.
This is not meant to be a final appreciation for the career of Kansas State quarterback Skylar Thompson. This is not meant to be a full rundown of how he ranks top 10 in 15 different statistical categories as a Wildcat, either. Those stories will come down the road. There's still a handful of games left in this 2021 season.
And that's what Brad Thompson, Skylar's father, appreciates about the most.
"This is the last round, so I'm just trying to enjoy the process," Brad says. "I'm just enjoying him and the games. The kids are battling their tails off and want to win, and I'm enjoying the process. They're playing collectively good football. At the quarterback position, he's kind of steering the ship. That's been fun to watch.
"I'm so happy, and God willing, he's able to finish his career on the football field. I think it'll be fun."
There was a time not too long ago when this all seem implausible, and for those who witnessed it, and agonized in silence, they remember it too well. The sixth-year senior twisted in pain, the medical staff held his right leg and examined his knee, and head coach Chris Klieman hugged his quarterback's head and pounded his fists on the ground. Life isn't fair, but man, this was cruel.
With 7 minutes, 21 seconds left in the first quarter against Southern Illinois on September 11, Thompson handed off to running back Deuce Vaughn and then attempted to block for the preseason All-American. Then suddenly after a couple steps Thompson fell to the ground. A heap of pain. Non-contact injury. The absolute worst.
But alas, this story features a miraculous turnaround.
Early afternoon sunlight kissed Thompson's helmet as he tossed a soft pass to Vaughn for the game-winning 22-yard catch-and-run touchdown in a 25-24 win at Texas Tech last Saturday. And Thompson jumped and celebrated along with his teammates — something few likely believed possible immediately following the Southern Illinois game.
Each day is a new chapter.
And each chapter is turning into a riveting story.
No quarterback in K-State history has endured or enjoyed a career quite like Thompson. He started out his career as the third-string quarterback. Then he helped his team to a top-10 victory. Then he was a part of a two-quarterback system. Then he had a new head coach. Then he beat Oklahoma. Then the pandemic. Then he missed almost the entire 2020 season with a shoulder injury. Then he was granted a sixth year. Then the comeback. Then the right knee injury. Then another comeback. All under the guidance of Klieman, offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham, and quarterbacks coach Collin Klein, the 2012 Heisman Trophy finalist, who has always helped steer Thompson to solid ground.
"Skylar's done a phenomenal job over two different (significant injuries)," Messingham says. "To his credit, he's never had a day outwardly, where you've felt like, 'Man, that guy's dauber is down.' He's a positive guy that believes things happen for a reason, and he has a trust and faith in why things are happening. He's been very good at it."
Now Thompson's story is almost finished. He will unequivocally go down as one of the top-10 quarterbacks in school history when he leaves the field for the final time. For starters, he's the only player to pass for 6,000 yards and rush for 1,000 more in a career in K-State history. It's a benchmark that only nine other active FBS quarterbacks have been able to reach.
"He's been everything," Klieman says. "I think he's one of the best players in the Big 12."
This kind of stuff doesn't happen in the movies. Take the evening of September 2, 2017, for example. True story: 1998 Heisman trophy runner-up Michael Bishop strolled along the Bill Snyder Family Stadium parking lot and ran into Brad Thompson and his family. Bishop became enthralled with Skylar's story, how the 2015 Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year from Independence, Missouri, did so many great things at Fort Osage High School, and was now a K-State backup quarterback and simply looking for an opportunity to play.
Skylar had three carries for 49 yards but did not attempt a pass in the 55-19 season-opening win over Central Arkansas. Afterward, Skylar walked to the parking lot to see his family. He was shocked to see Bishop standing there talking with his dad.
"The sky's the limit," Bishop told Skylar. "You can write your own story for K-State."
Thompson continues to do exactly that. In the movie "Stranger Than Fiction" the main character spends two hours wondering if he's trapped in a tragedy or a comedy. He keeps track of every moment in a notebook. Thompson keeps track of everything in a playbook, and week by week the sportswriters and fans keep track of the wins, analytics and advanced stats, wondering which way the story will turn.
So, let's talk about statistics. Thompson currently owns the highest passing efficiency rating (164.2) by a quarterback in single-season history and he owns the highest completion percentage (71.42%) by a quarterback in a single season. Currently, he ranks fourth all-time in total yards (7,183), third in passing yards (6,093), fifth in rushing yards by a quarterback (1,090) and fourth in total touchdowns (61). No quarterback in school history has had a lower interception rate (1.96%) in a career, either.
"He'll tell you the same thing, we don't really get into the statistics of it," Brad says. "K-State has had a lot of great quarterbacks. I think Skylar's hope is to be remembered as a kid wo gave his heart and soul to the program and did everything that he could to help them win. He's had an opportunity to work with Collin for six years, and they have a very special relationship.
"Skylar knows the expectations as a quarterback at K-State, and I think he wants to be remembered as one of the great quarterbacks."
More immediate, Thompson comes off the best three-game stretch in his career. He completed 70.7% of his passes for 320 yards and 3 touchdowns against Oklahoma. He completed 65.2% for 206 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception against Iowa State. He completed a career-high 80% for 306 and 1 touchdown at Texas Tech, completing passes to 11 different pass catchers. In the second half, he was 14 of 15, which was the highest completion percentage by a K-State quarterback in a half since Josh Freeman in 2006.
Those three games combined he was 68 of 94 (72.3%) for 832 yards and 6 touchdowns and 1 interception.
"It's something I've been working on for a long time," Thompson says. "I've always believed I've been able to throw the football. The game just feels really slow for me right now."
It's the best three-game stretch by a K-State quarterback since Jake Waters during the final three games of his career in 2014.
"He has a lot of confidence in his body," Klieman says. "You can see over the last three weeks how that confidence has grown with his knee feeling so much better. His arm feels good. He's getting the timing with all these receivers Monday through Friday as opposed to missing the few weeks he did. It was very similar to what he was doing in fall camp, spinning it around and having a lot of confidence. The thing that's fun for me is to talk to him on the sideline or after the game about how the game has slowed down for him, and he sees things so well.
"He's such an accurate thrower and even out of tough platforms or under duress, he finds a way to either step up or slide out and put the ball in a position where kids can make plays. I'm excited about where he's at. I know he's excited about how he's playing, and there's going to be games like we had last Saturday where we have to put it in his hands. I don't know how that's going to play out every week, but we had another part of the game plan that we really went to last Saturday.
"I think he's one of the best players in the Big 12, and you have to let him be that guy and let him play."
It's been building for some time now — before, during and after the injury obstacles. Almost fittingly, his latest performance at Texas Tech was also site of the opening salvo to his career. Thrust onto the field due to an injured starter, Thompson guided the greatest fourth-quarter comeback in K-State history (ESPN listed Texas Tech with a 99.1% win probability) in steering the Wildcats from an 11-point deficit to a 42-35 overtime victory on November 4, 2018 at Jones AT&T Stadium.
Everything moved fast, Thompson stayed cool, and then he enjoyed career highs with 2,315 passing yards and 12 touchdowns while guiding K-State to a bowl game in Klieman's first season in 2019. Then disaster struck against Texas Tech last season when linebacker Rico Jeffers drove Thompson's shoulder into the ground on a late hit that caused Jeffers to be ejected, and that forced Thompson into surgery and months of recovery.
But it's Thompson's propensity to bounce back from adversity and the injuries and everything in between that his father most appreciates.
"It goes back to his shoulder injury and COVID and everything," Brad says. "His mental approach toward everything, he attacked it, and I was proud of that as anything — the way he's matured in his time in the K-State program and his approach toward things. When the second injury hit, I was trying to figure out how I'd have a conversation with my son about that.
"When he had a shot at coming back, there really wasn't a doubt in my mind how he'd attack it. He'd attack it the same way he's attacked these last two or three years. I felt if he could get back there, you just don't know how, he's still healing, but I knew he'd give it everything.
"They're playing pretty good football and the best is yet to come. It's kind of exciting."
Father and son relationship
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) October 26, 2019
Unbreakable #KStateFB ⚒ @skylar_15 pic.twitter.com/k6SRoBH5Qi
K-State sixth-year senior center Noah Johnson still grows glassy-eyed when discussing his part in the Thompson story.
"I consider Skylar one of my best friends and that really started in 2019 when I wasn't even playing," Johnson says. "To have the starting quarterback befriend me at the time, the new kid on the block, it meant a lot. Last year, I felt like we really were starting to connect, and it showed on the field, and then he got hurt, and that was freaking heartbreaking for him. Sitting there talking with him every day, you could tell how much it hurt him not to be out there. When the rule came out that we could get a sixth year back, he was pretty quickly committed to coming back. I said, 'Man, if you're coming back, I'm coming back.' He's a special guy I want to share the field with."
Johnson pauses.
"This year when he went down," he continues, "I can't even describe how I felt at that moment for him, and to see him fight through it, it's been very inspiring."
K-State is 4-3 overall and 1-3 in the Big 12 Conference as it prepares to host TCU, 3-4 and 1-3, in Saturday's homecoming game at 2:30 p.m. at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Thompson threw for 172 yards and a season high-tying 2 touchdowns while rushing 10 times for 68 yards and 1 touchdown in a 24-17 victory the last time he faced the Horned Frogs in 2019 in Manhattan.
The Wildcats' next three opponents — TCU (3-4), Kansas (1-6) and West Virginia (3-4) — are each under .500. Each are also poor against the pass — TCU ranks 119th, West Virginia ranks 96th and Kansas ranks 123rd out of 130 FBS teams. There appears to be ample opportunity for Thompson and the Wildcats. But that would be looking ahead. And Thompson refuses to look too far into the horizon. He has learned to cherish every moment. And he's taking advantage of every opportunity.
"The young kids call him 'old man' now," Brad says. "I laughed and said, 'What comes with that is maturity and insight.' I told him to use it to his advantage and I think he has done so. Once he knew he was going to be able to play again, it's like a switch flipped. He said, 'OK, what do I need to do? What do I need to do?' He was relentless in his rehab. Anything and everything he could do, he did. His teammates were awesome. For him to work that hard, it elevates everybody to do the same."
The countdown is on, and a handful of games remain but Thompson remains focused on the Horned Frogs.
"We've settled into what we need to do during the week to put ourselves into position to win, and that lights a fire inside of you whenever you have that feeling inside, especially that feeling we had in the locker room after the game last Saturday and celebrating with our teammates and coaches," Thompson says. "Just seeing the gratitude and joy on peoples' faces to enjoy a win is big time.
"That's something that's contagious and it's something we want to feel again."
Each day is a new chapter.
And each chapter is turning into a riveting story.
Players Mentioned
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