Jack Thompson (born May 18, 1956) is an American former professional football player, a quarterback in the National Football League for six seasons. He was known as "the Throwin' Samoan," a nickname bestowed on him by Spokesman-Review Washington State University in 1976 .
As a collegian at Washington State in Pullman , Thompson set numerous school, Pac-10 and NCAA records. In the second game of 1976 , he took over on offense after senior starter John Hopkins was injured making a tackle in the second quarter at Minnesota .[1]
As a senior in 1978 , he finished ninth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy ,[2] [3] [4] All-American three times.
Legend
Led the Pac-8/Pac-10
Pac-8/Pac-10 record
Led the NCAA
NCAA Record
Bold
Career high
* Includes bowl games.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Mel Hein ). Thompson wore No. 14 and graduated from Evergreen High School in 1974, south of Seattle .
Thompson was the first quarterback selected in the 1979 NFL Draft , taken third overall by the Cincinnati Bengals ,[4] [6] Super Bowl season in 1981 .
Considered by ESPN to be a bust of a draft pick (#26 worst – fellow WSU grad Ryan Leaf is considered #1),[7] Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1983 and was the starter , but was replaced the following year by Steve DeBerg .
Year
Team
Games
Passing
Rushing
Sacked
Fumbles
Record
G GS Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A Lng TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg TD Sck Yds Fum Lost W–L
1979 CIN
9
1
39
87
44.8
481
5.5
50
1
5
42.4
21
116 5.5
5 16
178
3
1
0–1
1980 CIN
14 4
115
234
49.1
1,324
5.7
59
11
12
60.9
18
84
4.7
1
13
113
5
3
1-3
1981 CIN
8
0
21
49
42.9
267
5.4
21
1
2
50.3
0
0
0.0
0
7
61
0
0
0-0
1982 CIN
1
0
0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0
0 0.0
0
0
0.0
0
0
0
0
0
0-0
1983 TB
14 13 249 423 58.9 2,906 6.9 80 18 21
73.3 26 27
1.0
0
39 289 10 5 2-11
1984 TB
5
3
25
52
48.1
337
6.5
74
2
5
42.4
5
35
7.0 0
10
54
1
1
1-2
Total
51
21
449
845
53.1
5,315
6.3
80
33
45
63.4
70
262
3.7
6
85
695
19
10
4-17
Year
Team
Games
Passing
Rushing
Sacked
Fumbles
Record
G GS Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A Lng TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg TD Sck Yds Fum Lost W–L
1981 CIN
2
0
1
1
100.0
14
14.0
14
0
0
118.7
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0-0
Total
2
0
1
1
100.0
14
14.0
14
0
0
118.7
0
0
0.0
0
0
0
0
0
0-0
After his football career, Thompson settled in Seattle and became a mortgage banker , as well as a volunteer quarterbacks coach at Ballard High School . His son Tony, a tight end , followed in his dad's footsteps in suiting up at Washington State, and a nephew, Tavita Pritchard , was a quarterback at Stanford University .
↑ Missildine, Harry (September 19, 1976). "Gophers whips Cougs" . Spokesman-Review . Associated Press ((Spokane, Washington)): p. D1. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uCBOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=m-0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6533%2C1584334 . ↑ "Oklahoma's Sims Heisman winner" . Lodi News-Sentinel . UPI ((California)): p. 18. November 29, 1978. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VuAzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lDIHAAAAIBAJ&pg=6513%2C3154430 .↑ Word, Ron (November 29, 1978). "Billy Sims" . Spokesman-Review . Associated Press ((Spokane, Washington)): p. 49. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pEpOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=De4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6337%2C6415692 . ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Ohio State linebacker goes to beef up Buffalo" . Spokesman-Review . Associated Press ((Spokane, Washington)): p. 49. May 4, 1979. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AOkRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3-4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6902%2C1670873 .↑ "Jack Thompson college statistics" . https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/jack-thompson-1.html . Retrieved July 14, 2019 .↑ Bergum, Steve (May 4, 1979). "Cincinnati denies rumors; Thompson isn't trade bait" . Spokesman-Review ((Spokane, Washington)): p. 49. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AOkRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3-4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4154%2C1673111 . ↑ ESPN.com: "Phillips couldn't outrun off-the-field troubles: From Ryan Leaf to Michael Westbrook, ESPN.com ranks the top 50 draft busts" April 18, 2008.
Template:Washington State Cougars quarterback navbox
Template:Bengals1979DraftPicks
