Heading into the 2011 season, Olito Thompson was an athlete preparing for his first year playing running back for Concord (Calif.) High School. By the end of the 2011 season, Thompson was the single season record holder for rushing yards in northern California.
Thompson had a phenomenal year rushing for 3,488 yards and 35 touchdowns on 408 carries, all of that after spending the 2010 season on the defensive side of the ball. When he first got the nod as a starter, Thompson’s sights were set much lower than the northern California all-time rushing mark.
“To be honest, I really just wanted to help my team, be a part of my team and at least get 1,000 yards,” Thompson said. “I never expected to break any records or anything but the closer I got every game to breaking the record, the more I wanted it.”
Though the expectations were low heading into the season, the bar was quickly raised for Thompson. In the opening game, Concord got beaten badly by Cardinal Newman High School but Thompson was still able to put up more than 200 yards against a good defense, earning praise from the opposing coach.
“At first, at the beginning of the season, I was a little bit intimidated because to me, I was just an ordinary guy, I’m just regular Olito,” he said. “A lot of people were thinking that I wasn’t going to step up at the running back position so it kind of motivated me to do something great.”
Thompson did do something great. He ran his Concord team all the way to the CIF championship game and he did it without any gimmicks or slight of hand. This wasn’t a running back plugged into an option offense that spits out 2,000 yard rushers every season.
This was a back that just a year earlier was playing defense while watching his quarterback (USM signee Ricky Lloyd) throw for almost 4,500 yards and 52 touchdowns. The yardage and completion totals both broke northern California single-season records.
Concord Coach Brian Hamilton is predictably impressed.
“We don’t have one D-I offensive lineman so you tell me how we have a 3,500 yard rusher,” Hamilton said. “All we run is inside zone and power and he puts up those kinds of numbers.”
To hear Hamilton describe Thompson, it would seem as though he’s been playing running back his whole life. At 5-10, 210 pounds Thompson runs with toughness and power and his feel for the hole and the lanes is a big reason for his success.
“He’s very patient,” said Coach Hamilton. “He’s very kinesthetically aware. He doesn’t make the same mistake twice.”
Despite his production, his records, his help in leading his team to a CIF championship game appearance, Thompson has yet to pick up his first scholarship offer. This weekend Thompson will be visiting Cal for its junior day and he has also received significant interest from Oregon, Oregon State and Nevada.
However the slow start to his recruitment has not discouraged Thompson in the least.
“The senior signing day just got dealt with and I know that a lot of coaches have a lot on their schedules,” he said. “I’m confident that the offers are coming.”
Thompson’s spring will be filled by running track and playing rugby so his speed, vision, and toughness should continue to improve with those two endeavors. Fortunately Thompson also has plans to hit up plenty of camps. That’s good because unlike the other attributes, camps may help him with the one thing Thompson is short on: exposure.
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