| Washington State S Lamont Thompson improved his draft status with a
strong performance at the Senior Bowl. He has great range, ball skills and hands, but a
neck injury forced him to sit out the 2000 season and he is seen as the biggest question
mark by teams looking to draft him. Thompson took time at the NFL Scouting Combine in
Indianapolis to talk about his neck injury, whether it still bothers him and how he
developed his ball-hawking skills. Q: How has your experience been so far?
A: It’s been a good experience, everything I expected. I knew coming in it was
going to be a lot of chaos, a lot of teams grabbing you, wanting to interview you. So
it’s just everything I expected.
Q: What about the Senior Bowl? How would you compare that with your experience here?
A: The Senior Bowl wasn’t as hectic as this is because I played also in the
East-West Shrine game and I got a lot of interviews out of the way. So actually, the
Senior Bowl was kind of a real way of just focusing on the game, rather than doing a lot
of interviews.
Q: What did you measure in at?
A: 6-1, 220.
Q: How did you perform with the strength test?
A: Disappointing. 12 (reps at 225 pounds).
Q: You’ve had a neck injury in your past. Have teams been looking at that and
talk to you about that?
A: Yeah, I mean especially with my situation, missing all of last season and coming
back from a neck injury. I have had to take numerous tests to let them know that the neck
was all right. I just recently saw a doctor in Los Angeles to bring up a record saying I
am all right. They want me to do another MRI, but you have to expect that because it was
an injury that kept me out the whole season and I mean, they don’t want anybody who
is not able to perform out there.
Q: Do you feel it out there any more?
A: No, it’s nothing that I even think about it. The only time I talk about it is
when somebody else brings it up.
Q: The decision not to play last season, was that more of a precautionary measure or
did someone tell you that you couldn’t play?
A: It was precautionary. After consulting with the doctors and not having a progression
that we wanted from the spring to the fall, there was no reason to rush it. I had a
redshirt year so we opted to use the redshirt year. More than likely, I could have played
the tail end of the season, but there wasn’t any use.
Q: Your ball-hawking abilities as a safety are seen as one of your strengths. Where
did you develop that?
A: Probably from when I was a little kid. I have been playing safety and receiver all
of my life, even in Pop Warner since I was 8 years old, so I think that is something that
grows on me. Even in Pop Warner, I seemed to be around the ball a lot of times. I think
it’s more instincts than anything. I am just able to play the ball when the ball is
in the air and just going up and making plays.
Q: Is there any sense of competition with the other safeties here?
A: To be totally honest with you, I don’t feel like there is competition here. I
know everybody wants to go out there and do their best and I wish the best to them. But as
for me, I am focusing on the task at hand. I know what I can do. I know what I am capable
of doing, and it’s all about just going out there and performing.
Q: What’s your best 40 time?
A: 4.37, my junior year of ’99.
To Scouting Combine main page |
