Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Thomson has QB look, now an opportunity
10/9/2018 9:56:00 AM | Football, Word on the Herd
Marshall plays at Old Dominion this Saturday
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – During one of the August football practices, a National Football League scout came up to me on the sidelines inside the Chris Cline Athletic Complex and asked about Marshall's newest quarterback. The scout was clutching a preseason magazine, but the roster did not have Alex Thomson's uniform number.
"Which one is he?" the scout asked. He was pointed in the direction of the quarterback, who was warming up on the field. The scout looked back at me and said, "The one who looks the part?"
A glance at Thomson, a redshirt junior graduate transfer from FCS-level Wagner College, and one will see the prototypical NFL signal caller. He is 6 feet, 6 inches tall. He weighs 230 pounds. And, as many will tell you, he might too much resemble an NFL quarterback.
"He looks exactly like Aaron Rodgers," said offensive lineman Jordan Dowrey, comparing Thomson to the Green Bay Packers quarterback.
That is not Dowrey's commentary on Thomson's play. The quarterback, from the facial features to the beard, can be mistaken for Rodgers.
This is not new to Thomson, who made his first career FBS start last Friday for Marshall.
"Even at Wagner, if I had a little bit of stubble, it was always a thing," Thomson said.
Now, if Thomson takes the time to post a photo of himself on social media, the Rodgers comments come from all over.
"Should u be in Green Bay?" one commenter on Instagram asked. "Aaron Rodgers is that you !?" asked another.
"I think if I was just a regular guy, no one would say anything," Thomson said. "I think it comes with the territory of playing the position and kind of looking like him. I've gotten that from strangers. Even a guy who played for Middle Tennessee said something to me after the game."
Now, here's the kicker: Rodgers is Thomson's favorite quarterback, even though the Herd's latest starting quarterback is a Steelers fan at heart.
"The way he throws on the run is just incredible," Thomson said. "He can throw 50-yard lasers on the run to the left or his right. His game is a little different than mine, and he is 6-2 and I'm about 6-5. I watch Tom Brady, and I'm a Steelers fan so I watch Big Ben (Roethlisberger). I try to watch everything I can and incorporate what they do well into my game."
Thomson, who was injured last season at Wagner, played last Friday against Middle Tennessee, his first action since Sept. 9, 2017 – a span of 391 days. He completed 17 of 34 passes for 173 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He threw for 311 yards and one touchdown in 2017 before he was injured in Wagner's second game of the regular season, and the year before he led Wagner with 2,436 yards and 16 touchdown passes.
The road from small college Wagner to major college football was a long one for Thomson.
He is a native of Keyport, New Jersey, and since his parents did not attend college, he had no allegiances any program as a young person. Instead, he lived with his father, mother and three brothers, and the six people in the household had six different NFL teams for which they rooted: Jets, 49ers, Panthers, Lions, Steelers and Cardinals.
The Panthers fan and Lions fan were Alex's older brothers, and they toughened him for a future in football. The oldest brother, Bryan, played on the defensive line at Division II East Stroudsburg. The second oldest, Connor, was a center and left tackle at Division III William Paterson, and was Alex's center in high school.
Thomson could have followed in his oldest brother's footsteps and played at East Stroudsburg, but otherwise there were a dearth of options to play collegiately. That is where Thomson resembles Rodgers again. Rodgers had little interest out of high school, entertaining options like Southern Oregon and Lewis & Clark College before finally heading to junior college. He had no Division I scholarship offers. Nor did Thomson.
"I was a no-star recruit," Thomson said. "I had nothing."
Even the opportunity at Wagner came with discussion of moving the athletic Thomson to tight end someday, but he insisted on proving himself as a quarterback. After the 2017 season, when he made it known he wanted to be a graduate transfer and find an FBS home, schools in the SEC, Big 12 and Pac-12 were potential landing spots.
Now, Marshall is his home, and he couldn't be happier to be a member of the Herd.
"I knew I could play at the FBS level," Thomson said. "When the recruiting process started, Doc (Holliday) contacted me and we shared film. We had a good relationship from there. I felt like this was the best opportunity to play with a lot of guys returning on the offensive line, and I felt comfortable with Coach (Tim) Cramsey. This was the best fit for me."
Chuck McGill is the Assistant Athletic Director for Fan/Donor Engagement and Communications at Marshall University and a six-time winner of the National Sports Media Association West Virginia Sportswriter of the Year award. In addition to HerdZone.com's Word on the Herd, McGill is the editor of Thundering Herd Illustrated, Marshall's official athletics publication. Follow him on Twitter (@chuckmcgill) and Instagram (wordontheherd).
