Thompson has grip on football, Gators

Early in the first quarter of the 2009 season opener against Charleston Southern, Tim Tebow’s pass arched toward its intended target and the sellout crowd in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium readied itself for what was sure to be a long celebration as soon as Deonte Thompson pulled it in.

The fans’ anticipation turned to angst, however, as the ball fell through Thompson’s hands and to the Florida Field turf, and the resulting, collective groan was probably heard in Williston.

Such was how an early reputation of Deonte Thompson was built in 2009, a reputation he worked hard to dispel by season’s end, finishing with 24 receptions for 343 yards and four touchdowns, including a 5-63-1 performance in Florida’s 51-24 victory over previously unbeaten Cincinnati in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, the Gators’ consolation prize after losing 32-13 to eventual national champion Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.

Still Thompson had that reputation with some fans of dropping the long pass, even though he and Tebow completed a 77-yard touchdown play in Florida’s 23-20 victory over Arkansas.

“As long as he’s not gotten that reputation from our staff, that’s OK,” head coach Urban Meyer said Monday. “I know he’s worked hard. He dropped that one in the opener against Charleston Southern but he also made some great catches. We need him to be a ballplayer this year.”

Thompson’s end-of-season performance, a banner spring and hard-working summer have made the 5-foot-11, 203-pound redshirt junior the unquestioned leader of the receivers corps, something Meyer was hoping to see from the young man out of Glades Central High School in Belle Glade.

“Sometimes when you see him (Thompson) run, he does this,” said Meyer, who placed his hands, palms outward, at his lower chest level. “We try to teach (in making the catch) eye level or higher. If you catch the ball down here (lower chest level), your eyes aren’t fast enough to follow the ball into the hands. So (Florida teaches) eye level or higher. We’ve been working hard on that. The good thing about Deonte is he’s a worker. If there’s a weakness, he’s going to work on it.”

Plus, Thompson is going to set the example for all the receivers, particularly the young players like Andre Debose, Chris Dunkley, Quinton Dunbar, Robert Clark and Solomon Patton.

“I like his leadership,” offensive coordinator Steve Addazio acknowledged Tuesday.

Even with a slight hamstring problem, Thompson has continued to pass along what he has learned from Meyer and new receivers coach Zach Azzanni.

“Chris Dunkley (who hails from Pahokee High) is practicing full speed right now,” Meyer said. “He missed a lot because of his hamstring (problem), a chronic thing back to the Muck Bowl. But we’ve only had five practices with him.

“Debose had a very good camp,” Meyer said of the former Sanford Seminole standout many felt was the star of the Class of 2009 before a chronic hamstring problem necessitated surgery and ended his freshman season. “Andre actually battled through some little injuries. He had an ankle but he battled through it and worked hard. He has freakish ability. He just needs to learn to finish all the time.

“Dunkley is still an unknown,” Meyer continued. “Right now they are completely different – Debose is getting ready to play a game; Dunkley has a little while to go just yet.”

Meyer also had high praise for Frankie Hammond Jr., the redshirt sophomore who lost his scholarship after a DUI incident in the summer. Hammond has been working his way back into the good graces of the staff and his teammates.

“Frankie Hammond made a major mistake and he’s paying a significant price for it,” Meyer said. “Frankie is a humble guy, he doesn’t say much, he goes about his business and he does well in the classroom. I’ve been asked if I see a difference in Frankie Hammond and I’ve said no. The difference, I hope, is that he’s not making mistakes. I think he will (contribute) if he keeps going. But right now he’s not on scholarship – he’s going to pay for the fall semester and maybe the whole year. We’ll see how he does.”

One receiver, Justin Williams, has his arm in a sling after injuring a shoulder. “He was playing with it for 2-3 days and now we’re going to find out about that,” Meyer said. “He had a good camp and that just happened.”

Azzanni said he expects Williams back in a day or so.