Thompson selects Wake Forest
By Carl Lukat
Stone Bridge High School junior Zach Thompson concluded his courtship by college football programs April 23 when he verbally committed to Wake Forest University.
Thompson, the son of Bulldog coach Mickey Thompson, selected the Demon Deacons over offers from Virginia, N.C. State, Maryland, West Virginia, Boston College and Syracuse.
“Everybody in the community is nice. I like the small school, and the coaches are real nice people and I like the facility,” Thompson said. “It's just a great place to be.”
The 6-foot-5, 250-pound defensive end said it came down to Wake Forest, Virginia and N.C. State in the end. Thompson said Wake Forest, an Atlantic Coast Conference school in Winston-Salem, N.C., "just blew him away" during his visit.
“I felt so good there,” Thompson said.
Some speculated Thompson would follow in his dad's footsteps at the University of Virginia. Mickey Thompson was a defensive tackle (1977-'81) and earned a bachelor's degree at Virginia.
“The biggest thing for me was to see he was sure where he wants to go and that he's excited about where he wants to go,” Mickey Thompson said
“For him to come to a conclusion of knowing exactly where he wanted to go was a relief for me,” Thompson continued. “Because I don't want to be the one making the decision for him.”
Zach Thompson joins Stone Bridge linebacker Mike Olson in verbally committing to Wake Forest. Thompson and Olson will reunite with Stone Bridge 2007 graduate Devon 'Ylou' Brown, a redshirt freshman for the Demon Deacons.
Four members of the Bulldog Class of 2009 have finalized their college football plans. Linemen Brian Slay (N.C. State) and David Wang (Virginia Tech) previously had committed.
Another pair of juniors, Thompson's twin brother, Patrick, a quarterback, and running back Daniel Allen are also receiving plenty of interest from Division I programs.
Mickey Thompson said Patrick would strongly consider joining Zach at Wake Forest if the Demon Deacons make him an offer.
“Wake Forest has said that [Patrick] is one of the top guys on their quarterback list,” Thompson said. “They have not extended an offer yet to that quarterback, so it remains to be seen if Patrick would be the person.”