Former Texas WR Brenen Thompson: "I think if I could go back and do it again, I probably would have done it a little differently"
Mississippi State wide receiver Brenen Thompson is at his third school. A member of Texas’ 2022 class, Thompson was a state champion sprinter from Spearman who won the 2022 UIL 3A 100m and 200m title. He committed to Texas, choosing the Longhorns over Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma.
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Thompson was the No. 101 overall prospect in his class and though he was somewhat undersized, he had elite speed. He chose Texas and therefore chose Austin, which provided a much different environment than his hometown of Spearman way up in the Texas panhandle.
After playing in nine games for Texas as a true freshman, where he logged one catch for 32 yards in the Longhorns’ loss to Oklahoma State, Thompson transferred to Oklahoma. He spent two years there, his first with current Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby as his offensive coordinator. During his time in Norman, Thompson caught 26 passes for 471 yards and four scores and struggled as part of a volatile Sooner offense.
He transferred yet again and chose to reunite with Lebby. At SEC Media Days in Atlanta, Thompson was asked if he would have changed how he went through the early stages of his career.
“It was a hard decision for me, ultimately,” Thompson said. “I think if I could go back and do it again, I probably would have done it a little differently. We’re all human. We’re at the end of the day 17-, 18-year-old kids trying to make a life-changing decision. For me, choosing Austin, I just wanted something a little different from what I grew up in, a small town community. Ultimately I realized maybe that’s not what I want. So trials and tribulation and errors and learning from my mistakes, it’s made me the man I am today.”
Thompson is now in Starkville, Miss., a town he described as a little closer to what he’s used to. He’s also in an offense that allows for his elite speed to be utilized by the offense.
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“It was the history I had with Coach Lebby,” Thompson said explaining his decision. “He knew what he was getting and what I was expecting. And then ultimately Starkville. I’m from Spearman, Texas, 3,000 people in the town. So Starkville is very much like home to me, very small town, country. That’s what I’m about.”
Lebby is excited to have Thompson at his disposal.
“I think he set the standard of how you should operate inside of the building as a transfer,” Lebby said. “There’s not a better teammate. There’s not a guy that spends more time, that’s more accountable, that’s just serious about being great at everything that he does. He’s got this really mature personality. He’s an old soul, and this guy has done an unbelievable job of being a great teammate, and he has really set the expectation for transfers and what it’s supposed to look like.”
Thompson isn’t the only former Longhorn on the Bulldogs. Linebacker Derion Gullette and defensive lineman Jaray Bledsoe are in Starkville too as they look to boost the Bulldogs from a 2-10 2024 campaign.
They’ll get the chance to play their former team this season when Texas heads to Starkville to face Mississippi State on October 25.
