Every now and again, I’ll be catching up with those who call sports or elements of sports their job, profession, livelihood — to help give those outside of the business a better understanding of what goes on around the game.
Earlier this week when I read the report about the Miami Dolphin’s signing former German American Football League MVP, Tyler Davis there is one guy who quickly came to mind: Ricardo Thompson.
Ricardo and I had connected the previous weekend on social media and swapped some messages about both living in Germany around the same time, him playing for Rothenburg in the German American Football League and me — well, you know the story. The more I connected with “Rock”, the more I learned about his story and felt compelled to share it: the 28-year old, 6-foot-1, 250 pound linebacker out of the University of Cincinnati has dreams of playing in the NFL one day and is self-promoting himself every step of the way without the assistance of representation. Daunting. Inspiring.
That road is paved with hard work, faith and avoiding frustration in order to keep an eye on the prize. Needless to say, for his family and those who lean heavily on him, the man is a “Rock”.
Looking back on deciding to attend the University of Cincinnati in 2007, you were a highly recruited linebacker out of Withrow High School by schools like the University of Minnesota, Indiana University, University of Illinois and the University of Buffalo among others. What did then Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly say that convinced you his program was the right fit for you?
Coach Kelly was an awesome coach, buy I really chose Cincinnati to be closer to home for my family. My little brother (Brett Thompson) had just been born and I am the one in the family who leads and who everyone looks up to. I knew the importance of me not having my father around when I was growing up so I wanted to be there for my mom (Victoria Prince) and him along with my little sister (Nikkia Prince). Ultimately, Coach Mark Dantieno (now head coach at Michigan State) and Coach Pat Narduzzi (now head coach at the University of Pittsburgh) who were at Cincinnati at the time came to my high and offered me as a junior, but before then I didn’t even consider Cincinnati honestly. Eventually, Coach Kelly sold me on the program being a tradition and a family and I was going to have a great opportunity to play on Sundays. Once he said that, I was pretty much sold.
After helping the Bearcats become two-time Big East Champions and Coach Kelly left for Notre Dame in 2010, you transferred to Division 2 Ohio Dominican University. What was the biggest difference between preparing, training and competing in Division 2 versus Division 1?
The biggest difference was obviously I had more resources at Cincinnati than I had at Ohio Dominican University, but the competitive nature we had a Cincinnati was so high and that was the main difference on the field. We competed in literally everything — Coach Kelly ran a “next man in” system so that’s all we knew, was to compete and be competitive. Everyone had one goal at Cincinnati and that was get to the NFL. But that wasn’t the case at Ohio Dominican University. Guys focused more on education and life after football which taught me a lot. I was blessed to see both sides of the spectrum. Coach Bill Conley was awesome and he and his staff took care of me like a family. If I needed anything today he would be the first to help me.
Going undrafted and wanting to play professionally after graduating from ODU, where did you turn for help?
After school, I worked with an agent but he was new to the business so his contacts were very limited so I turned to a couple of guys who I played with at Cincinnati who got drafted and talked to them to show me what steps I needed to take — guys like Isaiah Pead (Pittsburgh Steelers), John Hughes (Cleveland Brown), Adrien Robinson (New York Giants), Travis Kelce (Kansas City chiefs)and Ricardo Mathews (San Diego Chargers).
All of my opportunities I’ve gotten on my own. I have sold myself pretty much. I try to live my life the right way and so I try to walk the straight and narrow and be a man of God. He shows me the way and continues to bless me with opportunities, so I stay ready and in shape to capitalize of them and I’ve meet some wonderful people along the way. I believe in being good and showing love to everyone and I get that back in return. My journey has been amazing. Things happen for a reason and I’m conscious and aware of this. I can say I’m blessed and I have been walking in faith.
Speaking on your journey, you have had some unique experiences as a pro – from your tryouts in the Canadian Football League (Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Montreal Alouettes), to playing overseas in Germany (Rothenberg), to the Arena League and Indoor Football League. What have you learned the most about yourself from these spots during your pro career?
I learned to stay confident, believe in my abilities. I’m just an all-around better player having played in these leagues — bigger, stronger, faster and a smarter football player. I don’t want to come off as cocky, but it’s the truth. I learned that end of the day, if you don’t have a big name or you did not come from an SEC school or big conference, getting your break can be challenging. It’s 95% of who you know the other 5% is you being at the right place at the right time. That’s sad, but it’s the truth.
Anyone who watches your highlights and/or game film will quickly see that you have played both sides of the ball and are explosive. How would you describe yourself as a player?
Physical. I’m an hard nose player and guess you can say I’m an old school player. I always look to dominate my opponent. Playing smart is important to me, as is taking on the role of a leader. I lead by my play and believe in paying attention to detail.
What does your training schedule and plan look like? And what are you doing work wise when you are not training?
I train on my own six days a week and maintain my college work that I did under Coach Brian Kelly back in college at Cincinnati. Typically, I do a lot of explosive training — squats, whip snatches, power cleans, hang cleans, one arm snatches, bench – and a lot of fast movements training. I also do speed work and agility work and run hills as well. I approach my training very seriously.
I hold my bachelor’s degree in criminal justice but have been working with kids and adults in the mental health field. I worked with kids at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center as a Mental Health Specialist and with adults at the Summit Behavioral Healthcare in Cincinnati for the past four years. The most rewarding part about my work is being an influence for the kids and even a lot of the adults who looked up to me as well. I like to be a positive role model for people and soon as I tell my story it helps them and sometimes gives them courage and a second life in some ways. It motivates them and gets them focused, especially when they learn that I came from where they came from.
What is harder: training and waiting for the next professional opportunity or having to answer the questions from friends and family about why you aren’t currently playing?
Wow, this is a great question. I would say it’s about equal. I’m not a fan of waiting and not knowing, but my relationship with God grows more and more and helps guide me. I just listen to him when he talks to me so all I do now is control what I can control, stay ready and be in the best possible condition to crush whatever workout that comes my way. Every day is a new day — which means everyday is a new day to be great!
What is the ultimate goal for your football career at this time in your life…and how do you stay focused on that goal?
My ultimate goal is to get to the NFL and be a difference maker. I want to help people — especially kids who are like me — who lack a firm social system. I want to show the kids that you can obtain whatever it is you want do with hard work, believing in yourself and being persistent and consistent. I’d like to open my own facility and provide that service to kids and giving them an opportunity to better themselves. I want to show them and train them so that way we will have a better world by investing in our youth. That is the best way. It starts with sending our kids to college and getting them off of the streets.
I also want to do more for veterans across the world. I want to provide them more security in their life. There are too many homeless veterans I have met when I was volunteering and it hurt to see them struggling after all the work they put in for our country, so we can us enjoy our freedom. If you served in the military — in any branch — you should be taken care of along with your family. This is something I believe strongly in.
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