Penn State football: DeAndre Thompkins stands as lone senior receiver
Penn State football has just one veteran receiver in DeAndre Thompkins finishing out the year. He can end his career the right way in the Citrus Bowl.
Across the last three seasons Penn State football senior wide receiver and return man DeAndre Thompkins has provided his fair share of exciting moments. He’s caught some big-play, deep passes, shown off his excellent speed and torched defenders for long returns as well. Although his senior year saw some bad drops and rough moments, he’ll likely be the only veteran receiver to star in the Citrus Bowl.
Thompkins has some solid numbers to back up a productive career, catching 79 passes for 1,171 yards and six touchdowns. From those numbers, he looks like a quality wide out that made plays throughout his time in Happy Valley. The numbers aren’t overwhelming, but they are significant. Now, he went through a period of being the flashy third option to Chris Godwin and DaeSean Hamilton over the 2016-2017 seasons.
He popped up at key moments, showed off his blazing speed and looked like a player that would bust out once he got the full-time starting job. As a full-time return man and a backup receiver, he showed enough playmaking ability. For instance, on special teams, he’s returned 66 punts for 675 yards and two touchdowns.
Unfortunately for Penn State football and Thompkins, the 2018 season hasn’t gone like that. The offense has sputtered. Upperclassmen receivers Thompkins, Brandon Polk and Juwan Johnson saw the passing game slip way down and become inconsistent. The biggest problem was drops.
All three players failed to haul-in on-target passes, then injuries kicked in and Thompkins was the last man standing in the older receiver rotation. Instead of going into a woe-is-me tailspin, he rebounded from just six catches in the first six games to snare 15 passes for 144 yards over the final six. Still not great, but he’s ended on a brighter note.
Senior QB Trace McSorley will be relying on him in the final game of both players careers. Thompkins has game-breaking ability and is a player to watch heading into the bowl.
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With one game left, he’s got a chance to close out what’s been a solid career in PSU history and a right some of the wrongs in a tough senior year. If he can help Penn State finish out another quality season under James Franklin, he’ll cement his legacy as another quality wide out in the school’s great history.