Shaq Thompson is an outstanding Hornung Award-winning American footballer who plays as a linebacker for the Charlotte-based football team, the Carolina Panthers. He began exploring the National Football League (NFL) in 2015 after being selected in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
A man of many talents, Thompson is also a baseball star and talented sprinter. He had a brief stint in Major League Baseball (MLB) and was a Boston Red Sox representative in MLB after being selected in the 18th round of the 2012 MLB Draft. The NFL star, however, has decided to pursue a career in football after going 0–39 with 37 strikeouts in 13 games.
Thompson also completed a four-year track & field program after which he honed his sprinting skills. His career as a sprinter was highly productive and also earned him admiration for his performance in the San Joaquin CIF Main Finals held in 2010. He is said to have recorded a personal best of 10.96 seconds in the 100 meters on the scoreboard of the event, take the seventh position.
He also holds the record for fifth place (21.69 s) at the 2010 CIF State Athletics Championships in the 200 meter dash. Thompson finished seventh in the 200 meters at the 2011 CIF National Track and Field Championships, where he competed with famed sprinter Remontay McClain.
Age and bio
Shaq is the son of Patrice Thompson (mother), who single-handedly raised the footballer along with his other three siblings in Del Paso Heights, a city in Sacramento, California, United States. She gave birth to the linebacker on April 21, 1994, in Sacramento, California. Shaq Thompson, whose father is missing on the card, has an older brother named Syd’Quan Thompson, a footballer who plays for the Broncos in the NFL.
The Carolina Panther player attended GrantUnion High School, where he played on the school’s baseball, track and field, and football teams. During his second year at Grant, he played an influential role in pushing the Pacers to a 12-1 overall record. Thompson also rushed for 25 touchdowns on 164 carries and 1,882, while helping his school to an 8-4 record and advance to the Sac-Joaquin CIF Section I quarterfinals as a than junior.
As a senior, he rushed for 15 touchdowns on 120 carries and 1,134 yards; passed 893 yards and 8 scores, as well as 57 tackles. After an impressive outing as a senior, Shaq was listed as one of the US Army’s American Bowl representatives in 2012.
The outstanding linebacker first joined the University of California, Berkeley after which he changed his mind in 2012 and enrolled at the University of Washington. He played college football as a linebacker, running back, slot corner and safety, from 2012 to 2014, receiving the fifth annual Paul Hornung Award as the most versatile player in his senior year. He gave up his senior season to pursue a full-time NFL career in 2015.
Shaq Thompson’s NFL Career
Shaq’s professional career began in 2015 after he was selected by the Carolina Panthers as the 25th overall pick in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He would sign a four-year contract worth $8.80 million dollars with the football team on May 7, 2015. The contract, as collected, came with a signing bonus of $4.66 million and a guarantee of $7.17 million.
The linebacker made his debut for the Carolina Panthers in a 20-9 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The footballer’s 2015 rookie season ended with ten starts, two pass deflections, one sack in 14 games and a total of 50 combined tackles.
The Carolina Panther star kicked off his 2016 season with an impressive record as well, assisting in his team’s 31-24 NFC Divisional Round victory over the Seattle Seahawks. He also appeared in Super Bowl 50 on February 7, 2016, recording five combined tackles against the Denver Broncos. Shaq suffered a sprained knee in 2016 and was forced to miss two games. He did, however, make a comeback that spawned some more impressive performances.
Shaq Thompson continued his career with the Panthers in 2017 as a strong starting linebacker, recording two solo tackles and suffering from plantar fasciitis, which caused him to miss two games in the week 14-15. on April 23, 2018, making the No. 54 jersey one of the team’s most popular players.
Body measurements, height and weight
The Carolina Panthers linebacker stands at a height of 6 feet 0 inches, which translates to 1.83 meters, making him one of the NFL stars with the most impressive stature. His weight, taken from his profile, is measured at 104 kilograms or 230 lbs.