Louisville's Jadon Thompson Taking Meaningful Steps Forward in Spring Ball

The wide receiver for the Cardinals had a string of injuries last offseason, and things are starting to click for him in his second year with the program.

Nov 4, 2023; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals wide receiver Jadon Thompson (2) / Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - When you look at the current makeup of the Louisville football program's wide receiver room, there's a lot to like.

Ja'Corey Brooks is a former five-star prospect who played major late-season roles in Alabama's run to the 2021 title. Caullin Lacy was a 1,000-yard receiver at South Alabama and a top-five wideout in the portal. Antonio Meeks had a productive two-year run at Tuskegee. Chris Bell is someone who had shown flashes of potential at Louisville. Joseph Stone and Cataurus Hicks are talented young players with upside.

But another wide receiver to potentially watch out for during the 2024 season is Jadon Thompson. The 6-foot-2, 190, pound wideout has made numerous plays during the first four open practices of spring ball, and has been a regular fixture of the main rotation of receivers. While Brooks and Lacy seem to be the presumptive WR1s on the roster, Thompson seems hellbent on carving out a role on the offense.

"This spring, it feels different," Thompson said. "I feel a lot more comfortable, feel a lot more comfortable within the offense and my playing style as well. I feel like I'm able to play more free, and just go out there and have fun, rather than worry about messing up or what do I have on this play. I know what I have, I can tell everybody else where to line up, what they have, so that allows me to play more free and faster."

The Napierville, Ill. native joined Louisville as an early enrollee transfer from Cincinnati. He spent his first three years in college with the Bearcats, and during his last season in the Queen City, he hauled in 26 passes for 383 yards and a touchdown.

However, the injury bug bit Thompson hard during his first season as a Cardinal. In his first week on campus, he had to have labrum surgery and was forced to miss all of spring practice. Then just two days into fall camp, he pulled his hamstring. After sitting the next week and a half, he pulled it again.

The string of hamstring issues in fall camp forced him to miss the first three games of the 2023 season, and Thompson was never able to truly get going once he did return to action. By the end of the season, he was only able to catch 12 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown.

The silver lining during this situation is that, while Thompson had to spend a good chunk of the season on the sideline, it allowed him an extended opportunity to digest the incredibly complex Jeff Brohm playbook. Things are "just now clicking" for him, and he not only knows his own role, but the roles of those around him as well.

"For me, it's really just now clicking," he said. "That's the good thing about it. I was hurt last year, so that kind of sent me back a little bit. I was able to watch and learn, and that's how I like to learn: by watching others do it. Right now, I feel like in the position that we're in now, like this is just now clicking. Now I know each position. Sometimes I might need to know the protection call. Especially this spring, it kind of lit a fire under me, like, 'yeah, you got this.'

Perhaps most importantly, Thompson is back to feeling fully healthy following his shoulder and hamstring injuries.

"The good thing about it, our training room, that staff is amazing," he said. "They got me back. Now, I'm 100 percent no injuries, and ready to ball."

(Photo of Jadon Thompson: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)

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