ATHENS, Ga. – Bright spots were few and far between for Georgia during Saturday’s 26-24 escape of Nicholls State, but Trenton Thompson did his best to prevent the biggest upset in college football history.
The 6-foot-4, 309-pound sophomore defensive tackle had his name frequently called out at Sanford Stadium, racking up 11 tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack. Thompson headed a defense that was mostly good against the Colonels, as the Bulldogs held the Football Championship Subdivision foe to 236 yards.
“Trenton practices hard, and one thing that’s been evident to me is guys who practice real hard usually play good,” Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said. “We need more guys to do what Trenton is doing. Trenton is athletic and is one of our more athletic big men, and that’s the hardest thing to find in recruiting.”
Georgia (2-0), which dropped from No. 9 to No. 16 in the Associated Press poll following Saturday’s scare, opens Southeastern Conference play this week with a trip to Missouri (1-1).
Thompson arrived at Georgia last summer as the highest-rated signee in program history, with 247Sports.com ranking him as the nation’s No. 1 overall prospect in the 2015 class. He made six starts last year and tallied 25 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss but quickly became one of the defensive front’s leaders following the departures of Josh Dawson, James DeLoach, Sterling Bailey and Chris Mayes.