Lucas: For Thompson, “the one thing that you can control is the response”
October 19, 2022 | Football, Mike Lucas
Sophomore DE looking to make most of his opportunities
BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. – E + R = O.
James Thompson Jr. was struck by the lettering on the dry erase board in the meeting room.
E + R = O.
Wisconsin defensive line coach Ross Kolodziej put the equation on the board. It has been a staple in the performance playbooks of countless motivational speakers and football coaches. During his seven years at Ohio State, it was the main plank in Urban Meyer's leadership foundation.
Event + Response = Outcome.
"You can't control the event or what's going on," said Thompson, offering his interpretation. "You really can't directly control the outcome. But the one thing that you can control is the response. How are you going to respond? How are you going to reload and reactivate and refocus and re-engage?
"What are you going to do? Are you going to sit there and feel sad and sorry for yourself?
"Or are you going to use that as fuel to better yourself for the next practice and next game?"
Managing the R-Factor – controlling the response – has been at the heart of the success equation, sports or non-sports related. In short, tune out what you can't control; focus in on what you can control. It was a timely and heads-up play by Kolodziej given the recent events at Wisconsin.
The dismissal of head coach Paul Chryst. Some players entering the transfer portal. A double-overtime loss at Michigan State. The future uncertainty of it all. "We've always talked about ups and downs, adversity, changes," Thompson said. "There's a lot of emotions going around the team.
"But what are you going to do about it? How are you going to respond?"
Thompson recognized the correlation between E and R. He has been down this path before.
"It was the same at my high school," he said. "Now I'm hearing it again in college. It translates."
&&&
Leading up to his first collegiate start at Northwestern, the 20-year-old Thompson – a 6-5, 295-pound redshirt sophomore defensive tackle – called home, Cincinnati, Ohio. He spoke to his mom, Harriett, and his mentor on the coaching staff at Roger Bacon High School in St. Bernard, a Cincy suburb.
"I called coach 'Solly' – he was a really good influential coach on me – he showed me how to play football the right way," Thompson said of 'Solly' – Solomon Tentman, the team's defensive coordinator, strength coordinator and a school guidance counselor. Tentman is a Roger Bacon alum.
"I still talk to him to this day," Thompson added. "He's had a major impact on my life."
A three-star prospect, Tentman dealt with his own uncontrollable "event" as a true freshman linebacker at the University of Cincinnati. In the final scrimmage of the 2010 training camp, he blew out his left knee. He tore the ACL, LCL, MCL and partially tore the PCL and patella tendon. Pretty devastating.
The early prognosis was that he would never play football again. But after months and months of challenging rehab, Tentman made it all the way back and played for the Bearcats. While the injury may have limited his career's trajectory, his response to the event ultimately changed the outcome.
Tentman's example was not lost on Thompson. Midway through his junior season in high school, Thompson fractured his femur. After his sophomore year, he had begun to hear from some Big Ten and ACC programs. "My junior year was to be my breakout year," he said, "and I was having a good start."
But after the injury ended his season, he pointed out, "It all started being a little more quiet."
His response? "It was just a little adversity in my life," he said, "and I was able to overcome it."
Thompson had his share of mid-major options, including Akron, Toledo and Miami of Ohio. Wisconsin got wind of him the year before while checking out his heavily recruited teammate, Corey Kiner, an explosive tailback, a Mr. Football in Ohio and a 2021 LSU signee (who's now at Cincinnati).
The Badgers liked Thompson's length and running ability and landed his commitment in early September of 2019. Besides pressuring quarterbacks (6.5 sacks) and opening holes for Kiner as a starting offensive tackle, Thompson was a team captain and a senior leader within the high school.
An in-house Roger Bacon publication – "Faces of RB" – featured Thompson. Here was one of the testimonials: "He is much, much more than just an athlete. He's a dynamic person and leader who strives to hold himself and others around him accountable to whatever standard is expected.
"… he is headed towards doing some really great things in his life."
The comments were from Solomon Tentman.
Thompson's classmates saw many of the same things in addition to a "quick smile, easy sense of humor and constant kind words" for others. Thompson credited his dad for the smile, "He's a smiley guy. He says there's no point in being sad if you have no reason to be sad. So why not have a smile?"
His father influenced other areas, too. "He gave me a hard mindset," Thompson said. "He always told me you have to work for what you want in everything. He always pushed me to be more determined. He always showed me that life was going to be hard but you have to be tougher than life.
"Funny thing about it, my dad didn't even want me to play football."
His dad, a welder, wanted him in the band instead.
"He tried to get me to play trumpet," Thompson said. "I'd sneak out and play football."
He smiled. What about that easy sense of humor? "I don't think I'm that funny but everyone else thinks I am," he said, speaking for his UW teammates. "I'm not the funniest on the team. I would say Keeanu (Benton) and Rodas (Johnson) are funnier. But they've said I should have my own TV show."
Maybe they were just being kind. Something that has never been a problem for Thompson.
"Morale is very important around friends and family and especially teammates," he said. "You have to appreciate the guys you're working with – their blood, sweat and tears. Each and every person has their own role. Some are just bigger than others. I go out of my way to tell them I'm thankful."
Thompson saved his kindest words for his mom. When he was in high school, he'd make trips to her place of employment – Richie's soul food restaurant, a chain in the Cincinnati area – just to spend a little time with her. He'd even wind up there on school nights and help clean or even cook.
"She worked there morning to night," he said with respect. "She worked really hard."
He brought that work ethic (if not the spicy chicken, yams and greens) with him to Madison.
Although he has found some local places to his liking, he said, "I do miss me some soul food."
&&&
Thompson's freshman season with the Badgers ended abruptly. On his very first college snap – in the fourth quarter of a 2020 game at Michigan – he tore his Achilles. "The play was over, and I just stepped back, and it popped," he said. "I remember feeling my heel drop to the ground."
His heart also sank. But not for long. "I knew that I had to stay determined and keep working – this was a setback – but I still had plenty of ball left in my career," he said. "I have many goals I want to chase and many I want to accomplish. I wasn't going to let that stop me from reaching those goals."
Thompson's response to the event was to work his tail off in the weight room. It has paid off in the desired outcome. Thompson has started the last two games for the injured Isaiah Mullens in Wisconsin's base defense. Mullens has already been ruled out for Saturday's matchup with Purdue.
"Every kid growing up dreams of playing Division-I football," he said, reflecting on his starts at Northwestern (2 tackles and fumble recovery) and Michigan State (2 tackles and a TFL). "It just shows all the hard work and effort I've put in these past couple of seasons has come into fruition. It means a lot."
During Monday's media availability, Thompson was aware of the crowd gathering around UW cornerback Ricardo Hallman. Last Saturday, Hallman, a redshirt freshman, lost a jump ball in the end zone to wide receiver Jayden Reed, a dynamic catch that lifted the Spartans to a double-overtime win.
"I stand by it – DB is by far the hardest position to play," Thompson opined. "You can play a great game but one play can make it seem awful. Rico played a good game in my opinion. It's football. People make plays. Playmakers make plays. You have to learn from it and move on. That's the way it is."
Not far from Hallman was Benton, who drew his own semi-circle of media reps. For the past few weeks, Benton has been playing at less than 100 percent because of injuries. But his response has been to continue to battle. Benton matched his season-high with five tackles against Michigan State.
"His mentality on a football field definitely brings up everybody's level of play," Thompson said of Benton. "His mentality and mindset – just how much he studies the games – makes our jobs easier. Especially with him holding down the middle, we're getting single blocks … he's been phenomenal."
Thompson was cognizant of Benton playing in pain – watching him drag his leg off the field from series to series, even from play to play, before wearing down. "He was fighting demons that game," he said. "He put his body on the line for us. He showed he's willing to do that for the team."
Thompson's suggestion is that the team must now come up with its own response.
"We have to rally around each other," he said. Can you bounce back? "I feel it in my bones."
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. – E + R = O.
James Thompson Jr. was struck by the lettering on the dry erase board in the meeting room.
E + R = O.
Wisconsin defensive line coach Ross Kolodziej put the equation on the board. It has been a staple in the performance playbooks of countless motivational speakers and football coaches. During his seven years at Ohio State, it was the main plank in Urban Meyer's leadership foundation.
Event + Response = Outcome.
"You can't control the event or what's going on," said Thompson, offering his interpretation. "You really can't directly control the outcome. But the one thing that you can control is the response. How are you going to respond? How are you going to reload and reactivate and refocus and re-engage?
"What are you going to do? Are you going to sit there and feel sad and sorry for yourself?
"Or are you going to use that as fuel to better yourself for the next practice and next game?"
Managing the R-Factor – controlling the response – has been at the heart of the success equation, sports or non-sports related. In short, tune out what you can't control; focus in on what you can control. It was a timely and heads-up play by Kolodziej given the recent events at Wisconsin.
The dismissal of head coach Paul Chryst. Some players entering the transfer portal. A double-overtime loss at Michigan State. The future uncertainty of it all. "We've always talked about ups and downs, adversity, changes," Thompson said. "There's a lot of emotions going around the team.
"But what are you going to do about it? How are you going to respond?"
Thompson recognized the correlation between E and R. He has been down this path before.
"It was the same at my high school," he said. "Now I'm hearing it again in college. It translates."
&&&
Leading up to his first collegiate start at Northwestern, the 20-year-old Thompson – a 6-5, 295-pound redshirt sophomore defensive tackle – called home, Cincinnati, Ohio. He spoke to his mom, Harriett, and his mentor on the coaching staff at Roger Bacon High School in St. Bernard, a Cincy suburb.
"I called coach 'Solly' – he was a really good influential coach on me – he showed me how to play football the right way," Thompson said of 'Solly' – Solomon Tentman, the team's defensive coordinator, strength coordinator and a school guidance counselor. Tentman is a Roger Bacon alum.
"I still talk to him to this day," Thompson added. "He's had a major impact on my life."
A three-star prospect, Tentman dealt with his own uncontrollable "event" as a true freshman linebacker at the University of Cincinnati. In the final scrimmage of the 2010 training camp, he blew out his left knee. He tore the ACL, LCL, MCL and partially tore the PCL and patella tendon. Pretty devastating.
The early prognosis was that he would never play football again. But after months and months of challenging rehab, Tentman made it all the way back and played for the Bearcats. While the injury may have limited his career's trajectory, his response to the event ultimately changed the outcome.
Tentman's example was not lost on Thompson. Midway through his junior season in high school, Thompson fractured his femur. After his sophomore year, he had begun to hear from some Big Ten and ACC programs. "My junior year was to be my breakout year," he said, "and I was having a good start."
But after the injury ended his season, he pointed out, "It all started being a little more quiet."
His response? "It was just a little adversity in my life," he said, "and I was able to overcome it."
Thompson had his share of mid-major options, including Akron, Toledo and Miami of Ohio. Wisconsin got wind of him the year before while checking out his heavily recruited teammate, Corey Kiner, an explosive tailback, a Mr. Football in Ohio and a 2021 LSU signee (who's now at Cincinnati).
The Badgers liked Thompson's length and running ability and landed his commitment in early September of 2019. Besides pressuring quarterbacks (6.5 sacks) and opening holes for Kiner as a starting offensive tackle, Thompson was a team captain and a senior leader within the high school.
An in-house Roger Bacon publication – "Faces of RB" – featured Thompson. Here was one of the testimonials: "He is much, much more than just an athlete. He's a dynamic person and leader who strives to hold himself and others around him accountable to whatever standard is expected.
"… he is headed towards doing some really great things in his life."
The comments were from Solomon Tentman.
Thompson's classmates saw many of the same things in addition to a "quick smile, easy sense of humor and constant kind words" for others. Thompson credited his dad for the smile, "He's a smiley guy. He says there's no point in being sad if you have no reason to be sad. So why not have a smile?"
His father influenced other areas, too. "He gave me a hard mindset," Thompson said. "He always told me you have to work for what you want in everything. He always pushed me to be more determined. He always showed me that life was going to be hard but you have to be tougher than life.
"Funny thing about it, my dad didn't even want me to play football."
His dad, a welder, wanted him in the band instead.
"He tried to get me to play trumpet," Thompson said. "I'd sneak out and play football."
He smiled. What about that easy sense of humor? "I don't think I'm that funny but everyone else thinks I am," he said, speaking for his UW teammates. "I'm not the funniest on the team. I would say Keeanu (Benton) and Rodas (Johnson) are funnier. But they've said I should have my own TV show."
Maybe they were just being kind. Something that has never been a problem for Thompson.
"Morale is very important around friends and family and especially teammates," he said. "You have to appreciate the guys you're working with – their blood, sweat and tears. Each and every person has their own role. Some are just bigger than others. I go out of my way to tell them I'm thankful."
Thompson saved his kindest words for his mom. When he was in high school, he'd make trips to her place of employment – Richie's soul food restaurant, a chain in the Cincinnati area – just to spend a little time with her. He'd even wind up there on school nights and help clean or even cook.
"She worked there morning to night," he said with respect. "She worked really hard."
He brought that work ethic (if not the spicy chicken, yams and greens) with him to Madison.
Although he has found some local places to his liking, he said, "I do miss me some soul food."
&&&
Thompson's freshman season with the Badgers ended abruptly. On his very first college snap – in the fourth quarter of a 2020 game at Michigan – he tore his Achilles. "The play was over, and I just stepped back, and it popped," he said. "I remember feeling my heel drop to the ground."
His heart also sank. But not for long. "I knew that I had to stay determined and keep working – this was a setback – but I still had plenty of ball left in my career," he said. "I have many goals I want to chase and many I want to accomplish. I wasn't going to let that stop me from reaching those goals."
Thompson's response to the event was to work his tail off in the weight room. It has paid off in the desired outcome. Thompson has started the last two games for the injured Isaiah Mullens in Wisconsin's base defense. Mullens has already been ruled out for Saturday's matchup with Purdue.
"Every kid growing up dreams of playing Division-I football," he said, reflecting on his starts at Northwestern (2 tackles and fumble recovery) and Michigan State (2 tackles and a TFL). "It just shows all the hard work and effort I've put in these past couple of seasons has come into fruition. It means a lot."
During Monday's media availability, Thompson was aware of the crowd gathering around UW cornerback Ricardo Hallman. Last Saturday, Hallman, a redshirt freshman, lost a jump ball in the end zone to wide receiver Jayden Reed, a dynamic catch that lifted the Spartans to a double-overtime win.
"I stand by it – DB is by far the hardest position to play," Thompson opined. "You can play a great game but one play can make it seem awful. Rico played a good game in my opinion. It's football. People make plays. Playmakers make plays. You have to learn from it and move on. That's the way it is."
Not far from Hallman was Benton, who drew his own semi-circle of media reps. For the past few weeks, Benton has been playing at less than 100 percent because of injuries. But his response has been to continue to battle. Benton matched his season-high with five tackles against Michigan State.
"His mentality on a football field definitely brings up everybody's level of play," Thompson said of Benton. "His mentality and mindset – just how much he studies the games – makes our jobs easier. Especially with him holding down the middle, we're getting single blocks … he's been phenomenal."
Thompson was cognizant of Benton playing in pain – watching him drag his leg off the field from series to series, even from play to play, before wearing down. "He was fighting demons that game," he said. "He put his body on the line for us. He showed he's willing to do that for the team."
Thompson's suggestion is that the team must now come up with its own response.
"We have to rally around each other," he said. Can you bounce back? "I feel it in my bones."
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