Casey Thompson’s Transfer to FAU has him on VP Watch for 2023
Your eye gets aquatic when you try to diss my staff
No props for your blocks so you can just kiss my…
– Hardwe’re, Hip-Hop group
FAU’s latest addition — QB Casey Thompson, has told two separate programs to kiss his *** two years in a row now. His first transfer came after four seasons with the Texas Longhorns. Thompson, an Oklahoma local, committed a college football sin, committing to the Longhorns out of high school. The coach who convinced him to sacrifice his soul is one Tom Herman. As it happens, Herman is now Thompson’s head coach once again at FAU.
Many in the college football community may diss the staff down there in Boca Raton. From a CFF angle, this transfer is just what the doctor ordered for not just Thompson, but FAU’s leading receiver — LaJohntay Wester. I wrote a profile on Wester in early March. While I felt at the time that there was a lot to love about his profile, my main concern was the QB position. With Thompson now in the fold, this concern is (at least somewhat) alleviated. We saw Thompson support Trey Palmer to CFF stardom at Nebraska last year, I don’t see any reason he won’t be able to do that again at a lower level.
Coaching & System
Herman’s history with productive QBs is the first and only reason I am interested in Casey Thompson for 2023. Herman began making a name for himself as the OC at Ohio State (2012-2014), before joining the Houston Cougars as the head coach in 2015. He would coach the Cougs for two seasons before accepting the same position at Texas (2017-2020). He was fired at the end of the 2021 season and would serve a brief stint in the NFL before accepting the head coaching job at FAU in 2023.
How’s this for a track record? Here are the QB1’s FPG numbers per year in Herman’s history as play caller dating back to 2012:
- 2012 — Braxton Miller: 28.9
- 2013 — Braxton Miller: 33.9
- 2014 — J.T. Barrett: 31.8
- 2015 — Greg Ward Jr. 29.04
- 2016 — Greg Ward Jr. 30.19
- 2017 — Sam Ehlinger: 24.8
- 2018 — Sam Ehlinger: 26.14
- 2019 — Sam Ehlinger: 27.99
- 2020 — Sam Ehlinger: 28.23
That’s a pretty solid pattern. There’s a lot of rushing usage among those QBs too, which is good because Thompson is a mobile QB and can do damage on the ground. Thompson will also be playing at a lower level of play than he ever has before in college. He will also have a bonafide stud in Wester at his disposal. He is probably the biggest beneficiary of this move, and I am thinking I might target both as a stack partnership for CFF. Certainly, I am targeting Wester everywhere; if you need some convincing, check out my write-up on him.
QB Casey Thompson – 6’1″, 200
Thompson began his career as a redshirt freshman in 2018 but did not see any game action. In 2019 and 2020, Thompson served as the backup to starting quarterback Sam Ehlinger, and he played in a total of nine games over those two seasons. In 2021, Thompson finally got his chance to start. In 12 games, he passed for 2,100 yards and 24 TDs to 9 INTs; he also rushed for 157 yards and 4 TDs (18.4 FPG).
In 2022, he transferred to the Nebraska Cornhuskers. In ten games, Thompson passed for over 2,400 yards and 17 TDs to 10 INTs. He also rushed for five scores and finished the season with a 19.4 FPG.
Thompson’s career numbers so far are not great. But, as it happens, his best game last season came against G5 opponent Georgia Southern, in which he passed for 318 yards, a passing TD, rushed for 31 yards, and 3 rushing TDs. That’s good because he’ll be playing against a lot of G5 opponents this season in Conference USA.
Thompson’s a sneaky pick in CFF because of the upside he offers at a very low price. He probably goes undrafted right now in most formats.
Concerns
- Thompson hasn’t put together a strong CFF season yet, despite starting in two seasons.
- While Thompson hasn’t secured the starting role yet (he just arrived), it is likely he will, given what the Owls have (or should I say, don’t have) on the roster.
