Tyson Calvin Thompson (born May 21, 1981) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

and

return specialist A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

San Jose State Spartans The San Jose State Spartans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San José State University. SJSU sports teams compete in the Mountain West Conference at the NCAA Division I level, with football competing in the Football Bowl S ...

Early life

Thompson attended

Irving High School Irving High School is a public high school in Irving, Texas. It was the first high school established in the Irving Independent School District. Irving High School includes, like all the other Irving ISD high schools, wireless internet in the ...

. As a junior in 1998, he rushed for 525 yards in a single game against L. D. Bell High School (Hurst, Texas), third most in Texas high school history and the most ever by a runner in UIL Class 5A, which at that time housed the state's largest schools. As a senior, he rushed for 2,418 yards on 358 carries and was a semi-finalist for the 1999 Texas Class 5A Player of the Year award.

College career

Thompson enrolled at

Garden City Community College Garden City Community College (Garden City CC or GCCC) is a public community college in Garden City, Kansas. It was established in 1919 to provide a means for post-secondary education for area residents. The school initially shared facilities i ...

Garden City, Kansas Garden City is a city in and the county seat of Finney County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 28,151. The city is home to Garden City Community College and the Lee Richa ...

. In two seasons he saw limited playing time but still recorded 1,063 rushing yards on 159 carries and 12 touchdowns. In his final game, he rushed 25 times for 323 yards and 3 touchdowns against nationally ranked Glendale Community College. He transferred after his sophomore season to

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

. He closed his collegiate career at

, playing in all 11 games with eight starts at running back while also seeing action as a

kick returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

. He posted 811 rushing yards (led the team) and his 5 touchdowns (third on the team). He declared for the

NFL Draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

after his junior season.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Thompson was not selected in the

2005 NFL draft The 2005 NFL draft, the 70th in league history, took place on April 23 and 24, 2005 NFL season, 2005. The draft was held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City and was televised for the 26th consecutive year, with coverage on E ...

due to concerns about his lack of experience at the Division I level. He impressed the Cowboys with his speed during a tryout at their practice facilities in Valley Ranch and was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

, to compete for the reserve running back and kick returner positions. After making the team, although he was third on the running back depth chart (behind Julius Jones and Marion Barber), a Jones injury allowed him to rush 20 times for 75 yards against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

and was named NFL

Rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

of the Week (Week 5). He finished the season with team records for kickoff returns (57) and kickoff return yardage (1,399), while ranking ninth in the NFL with a 24.5-yard average. His 2006 season ended when he broke his left ankle in the seventh game against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

, after being tackled out of bounds on a kickoff return. In

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, he was declared inactive in 9 games and was not re-signed at the end of the year, after losing his returner job to Miles Austin.

Las Vegas Locomotives

In 2009, Thompson was selected in the UFL Premiere Season Draft by the

Las Vegas Locomotives The Las Vegas Locomotives (called the Locos for short) were a professional American football team based in Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada that played in the United Football League (2009–2012), United Football League. The team played their ...

of the United Football League. He was signed on August 5, but was released before the start of the season.

Tri-Cities Fever

On January 29, 2010, he signed with the

Tri-Cities Fever The Tri-Cities Fever was a professional indoor American football, indoor football franchise based in Kennewick, Washington. The Fever joined National Indoor Football League (NIFL) in 2005 as an expansion team. The Fever were owned by Teri Carr. ...

of the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional indoor American football league in the United States. The league comprises 14 teams, divided equally between the Eastern Conference (EC) and Western Conference ...

. He left during the season after signing with a team in the United Football League.

References

External links

Blessed 'BoyDallas Cowboys bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Tyson 1981 births Living people Players of American football from Irving, Texas American football running backs American football return specialists Garden City Broncbusters football players San Jose State Spartans football players Dallas Cowboys players Las Vegas Locomotives players Allen Wranglers players Tri-Cities Fever players