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2018 Mountain West Football 50 Best Players: #18, San Diego State WARRIOR Tariq Thompson
The Aztecs’ standout sophomore continues our countdown of the Mountain West’s top 50 football players.
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What’s next for the 2017 Freshman All-American?
Just like yesterday, if you believed that this year’s list of the Mountain West’s 50 best players was finished with San Diego State’s 3-3-5 defense, you’d have been mistaken. Tariq Thompson, the highest-rated Aztec defender on the countdown, was voted in at #18.
Thompson’s 2017 season was one of the best by a true freshman at any position in recent Mountain West memory. He earned second-team all-conference honors after collecting 63 tackles, three tackles for loss, four pass breakups and five interceptions. The last figure was the second-most picks by a MWC freshman in the past decade (fellow top 50 honoree Dameon Baber had 6 in 2015), cementing him as one of the most opportunistic defensive backs in the conference.
Now a sophomore, it may be difficult to imagine that he’ll improve his numbers again, but quarterbacks will need to keep their eyes on Thompson all year long.
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