Why Josiah Thompson Should Win Mr. Football 2023

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kelvin Roller hasn't sugar coated where he thinks football could take [player_tooltip player_id='139295' first='Josiah' last='Thompson'].&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Dillon coach raves about his left tackle's future, and those three head-turning letters - N, F and L - even come out of Roller's mouth from time to time. And, yet, when it comes to the 6-foot-7, 290 pounder, Roller also raves about something else.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"For someone to have the long-term potential that Josiah has and and the amount of recruiting attention he has gotten, he is very humble and thankful for every opportunity football has afforded him," Roller said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thompson, one of five finalists for the state's Mr. Football award, has been nothing short of a dominant presence this season - with plenty of signs that he could develop into that player by the time he was a sophomore in 2021. He had a massive reach, great footwork and wasn't ever asked to be “the” guy, a designation usually given to skill-position players.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The progression has been fun to watch because of how good Thompson is.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And maybe no metric tells the tale like this one.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In four seasons (he was a back-up as a freshman but still played plenty), the left tackle has not allowed a sack. Not one.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Think about that, and remember the types of teams Dillon routinely plays in the regular and postseason alike. The Wildcats are often going up against some of the most disciplined, aggressive and productive defenses in the state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Still, not a single sack allowed.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Because of it, Thompson is largely credited with Dillon averaging 41 points and 365 yards of offense per game this year, his team going 9-1 in the regular season and sweeping through its region opponents with relative ease and now owning home-field advantage throughout the duration of the Class 3A Lower State playoffs.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That is where Thompson's storied prep playing career will end. But not, likely, before he puts up plenty more highlights like this one:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15060255/650f37682351e40a0c985b5e' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-653ede2391925"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Those clips traveled far and wide throughout his career. It led to nearly 20 offers from major programs, some of the biggest names in college football. Georgia, Alabama, Florida State, Clemson, Notre Dame. In Roller's words, Thompson is likely going to graduate from Dillon as the most heavily recruited student-athlete in school history. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thompson nipped a lot of that side of things in the bud by verbally committing to South Carolina back in April. It was done to allow him to enjoy his final months of being a high school student and produce for the Wildcats instead of worrying about his future.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After all, that's something Roller believes will take care of itself.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>EDITOR'S NOTE: </em></strong><em>This is a five-part series breaking down the finalists for South Carolina's Mr. Football award for this fall. Our scouts have seen these players this season and in most cases have tracked them since the beginning of their varsity careers. The 2023 Mr. Football award will be announced and presented at halftime of the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl on December 9 in Myrtle Beach.&nbsp;</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2023 MR. FOOTBALL FINALISTS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='239076' first='Zion' last='Dobson'] RB, Hampton County</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='267431' first='Avery' last='McFadden'] WR, Hillcrest</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='265222' first='Turbo' last='Richard'] RB, Northwestern</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='139295' first='Josiah' last='Thompson'] OL, Dillon</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1142430' first='Watson' last='Young']</strong> OL, Daniel&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->