Jalen Thompson talks recruitment, why Kentucky made his top 10

A little over a week ago, we introduced our readers to Jalen Thompson, a four-star class of 2023 defensive lineman who hails from the same high school as DeAndre Square and Deone Walker. Clocking in at 6-foot-3, 245 pounds, the junior of out Cass Tech (MI) said that he’s been hearing from Kentucky for nearly a whole year now.

Well, on Friday afternoon, that still-growing relationship paid off for the first time. Thompson dropped his top 10 list of preferred schools and the Wildcats were one of the teams to make the cut. Joining UK are plenty of high-profile programs such as Georgia, Southern California, Penn State, and Michigan along with the likes of Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Michigan State, Vanderbilt, and Arkansas.

As a junior in 2021, Thompson registered 30 tackles, 12 for loss, and 10 sacks in just six games for Cass Tech.

Top1️⃣0️⃣🔮#AGTG @recruitgfx pic.twitter.com/rjf4YfPVmq

— Jalen Thompson ✞ (@__4jalen) February 4, 2022

KSR was able to catch up with Thompson shortly after he announced his top 10 to get a better feel of his thoughts on Kentucky and what sticks out about the program early in his recruitment.

“Really it’s the family environment,” Thompson told KSR. “They treat me like family. My teammate Deone (Walker) committed there. When I was down there I felt very welcomed and it was somewhere I could see myself playing. And their defense, they have a very good defense and I love the defense they run. So I was like I could see myself fitting in there. And then they’re not only good on the field, they’re good academically.”

The connection with Walker is the important part right now. Thompson says the two are “real close” and communicate through a group chat nearly every day. Walker is in the class of 2022 though and will move to Lexington once his senior year comes to a close this spring. Thompson said that both he and Walker will make a trip to Lexington this spring to catch a practice.

There is also another Cass Tech connection with Kentucky as senior linebacker DeAndre Square graduated from there in 2018. Despite being located in Detroit, the UK staff has found success recruiting that area.

But a big part of that success, particularly in securing a commitment from Walker, was due to the efforts of former offensive line coach Eric Wolford, who infamously took the same job with Alabama over the weekend. Wolford was previously Thompson’s primary contact at UK, although that has now obviously changed. In fact, when the ‘Cats first offered him back in Feb. 2021, it was Steve Clinkscale, now with Michigan, who actually extended the offer on Kentucky’s behalf.

However, the staff currently in place has already communicated to Thompson that he remains a priority.

“They (Kentucky) were just telling me that even though (Wolford’s) moving on, they’re still interested in me and I’m one of the top guys on their board,” Thompson said.

Thompson now hears from multiple Wildcat staffers, listing graduate assistant Bryan Berezowitz as someone he talks with the most as of right now. But despite having various lead recruiters, UK still stands out for another unique reason: they were the first Division I school to ever offer him. Once Kentucky reached out, his exposure immediately blew up.

“That’s some of the reason why I kept them in my top 10 because they were one of the first schools to ever offer me,” Thompson said of UK. “That’s big. Coming from a big school like that in the SEC, I don’t ever take that for granted.”

Thompson likes Kentucky, but he dropped a top 10 for a reason. There are plenty of other schools that would love to acquire his services. Thompson has already visited six of the schools in his top 10, including UK. The four he hasn’t — Southern California, Penn State, Pittsburgh, and Arkansas — will all get visits at some point this spring. Perhaps even more notable, however, is that he’ll make return visits to Kentucky and Georgia.

Then of course you have the two in-state programs: Michigan and Michigan State, which are both building relationships with him and have the backyard advantage.

“I grew up watching them so it was something I dreamed of,” Thompson said of hearing from Michigan and Michigan State. “So every time I look at it, it’s like a dream come true getting offers from schools like that. They treat me very good. I talk to them here and there. I have a great bond with both of the d-line coaches.”

The upcoming visits this spring will be vitally important in his final decision. Thompson explained that he’ll either commit to a school in late April after he’s taken all his visits, or maybe wait a couple more weeks until his birthday in May. Either way, Kentucky is clearly in the running for Thompson and the staff will have a chance to convince him that the Wildcat way is the right way.