Dylan Thompson (born October 24, 1991) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach and former

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

who currently serves as a character coach for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. Thompson performed backup signal caller duties for the majority of his career, however after the graduation of

Connor Shaw Connor Shaw (born September 19, 1991) is a former American football quarterback and coach. He played college football at South Carolina, where he was the starting quarterback from 2011 through 2013. He was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an un ...

, he was named the starting quarterback for the

Gamecocks A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...

during the 2014 season.

Early years

Thompson attended Boiling Springs High School in

Boiling Springs, South Carolina Boiling Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 8,219 at the 2010 census. Namesake The area became known as Boiling Springs because of a small spring in its heart that, ...

, where he played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and basketball, earning scholarship offers for both sports. He signed with South Carolina on June 15, 2009.

College career

After redshirting during the 2010 season, Thompson's first significant amount of play time would come during the 2012 season. He earned his first career start on September 8, 2012, after Connor Shaw was injured during the season opener at Vanderbilt. Thompson would use that opportunity to lead the Gamecocks to a 48-10 route of

East Carolina East Carolina University (ECU) is a public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a teacher training school, East Carolina has grown from its orig ...

. He finished the season with 66 completions on 127 passing attempts, netting 1,027 passing yards and 11 touchdowns (1 rushing). In

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, Thompson again performed backup duties. He played in 10 of the Gamecocks' 13 games, earning a start at conference foe

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. Thompson finished the season with 52 completions on 89 passing attempts, netting 783 passing yards and 5 touchdowns (1 rushing). Prior to the 2014 season, Gamecock head football coach,

Steve Spurrier Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former American football, football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often ...

, named Thompson as the starting quarterback. Thompson started all 13 games for the Gamecocks. Despite his record-breaking offensive performance, he led the team to a comparatively lackluster season, largely due to poor defensive play. He would end the season (and his college career) with a 24–21 victory over the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

in the 2014 Independence Bowl and as the SEC leader in several passing statistics.

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers

After going undrafted in the

2015 NFL Draft The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previous ...

, Thompson signed with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

on May 5, 2015. He joined former Gamecock teammates

Bruce Ellington Bruce Ellington (born August 22, 1991) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at South Carolina and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. High school career In high ...

and Mike Davis on the 49ers. Thompson was released by the 49ers on September 5, 2015, due to roster cuts. Thompson was signed to the 49ers'

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

on September 6, 2015. He was promoted to the active roster on November 21, 2015, as backup to

Blaine Gabbert Blaine Williamson Gabbert (born October 15, 1989) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Missouri before leaving early for the 2011 NFL Draft after hi ...

after

Colin Kaepernick Colin Rand Kaepernick ( ; born November 3, 1987) is an American civil rights activist and football quarterback who is a free agent. He played six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL). In 2016, he knelt dur ...

was placed on injured reserve for the rest of the season. On May 6, 2016, Thompson was released by the 49ers.

Los Angeles Rams

On June 7, 2016, Thompson was signed by the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

. On August 30, 2016, he was released by the Rams. On May 30, 2017, Thompson was re-signed by the Rams. He was waived by the Rams on June 15, 2017.

Coaching career

Charleston Southern

In September of 2017, Thompson was hired as Director of Player Development for the

Charleston Southern Buccaneers men's basketball The Charleston Southern Buccaneers men's basketball team is the men's basketball team that represents Charleston Southern University in North Charleston, South Carolina, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Big South Confe ...

team. He was hired on the recommendation of

Jack Easterby Jack Easterby (born March 24, 1983) is the former executive vice president of football operations for the Houston Texans of the National Football League. Prior to joining the Texans in 2019, he served chaplain and character coaching roles. From 20 ...

Detroit Lions

In 2018, Thompson was hired by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

as the team's character coach. While he assists with many programs his main duties are to help players with the NFL transition and to help with support off of the field.

Houston Texans

On February 11, 2021, Thompson was hired as the Director of Team Development for the

, reuniting him with former South Carolina chaplain and former Texans executive Jack Easterby.

References

External links

South Carolina Gamecocks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Dylan 1991 births Living people Players of American football from South Carolina People from Boiling Springs, South Carolina American football quarterbacks South Carolina Gamecocks football players San Francisco 49ers players Los Angeles Rams players