While the Syracuse coaches eased Ivan Foy through a switch to left tackle before this season, Ron Thompson didn’t give Foy any time to get comfortable.

First, Thompson would spin to the inside. Then came a swim move to the outside. Then he’d line up, time the snap count perfectly and run past Foy before he even had his hands up to block.

“He was going right by him and I had to keep telling Foy the same thing,” offensive coordinator Tim Lester said. “‘You’re doing well, you’re getting better. Ron Thompson is just a damn good defensive end.’”

So far this season, Syracuse’s opponents are also finding that Thompson is a wrecking ball off the edge. Lester called him a “freak of nature.” SU head coach Scott Shafer said Thompson is one of the best edge rushers he’s coached. Through four games, his four sacks are tied for second on the team and are tied for second in the Atlantic Coast Conference. His three forced fumbles tie him with Duke safety Jeremy Cash for the conference lead, and Cash has played one more game.

But the most intriguing thing about Thompson isn’t his gaudy numbers; it’s that the junior is rapidly improving, game by game, learning to read offenses and tuning himself to go all out on every play. Syracuse’s (3-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) next test comes at South Florida (1-3, 0-1 American Athletic) at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, and it’s another chance for Thompson to be less of just an “athlete” and more of an “athletic defensive end.”

“I see a kid that can play football at a very high level, anywhere in the country on any Saturday,” said Tim Daoust, SU’s defensive line coach. “We just have to work on the inconsistencies. He’s got to be able to play every snap, run or pass, with a high level of consistency. And he knows that.”

Six years ago, Thompson was off to a slow start in his first season at Southfield (Michigan) High School. The coaches knew they wanted the sophomore at tight end and defensive end, but he didn’t have much experience on defense and wasn’t in the best shape.

Vernon Burden, Southfield’s defensive line coach, told Thompson he could split reps as a backup in each spot until he was ready to start at one or the other. He did that for four weeks, grew frustrated and showed the coaches why he should never leave the field.

The Blue Jays’ opponent tried running a stretch handoff on the doorstep of the red zone. Thompson burst off the edge and stripped the running back in one motion, running 70 yards untouched for a score.

“That’s when it became, ‘Why would we ever sub this kid out?’” Burden said. “If I had my choice, obviously I would have loved for him to focus on becoming a great defensive end. But that happened naturally for him, and he was so effective on both sides of the ball.”

Syracuse technically recruited Thompson as a four-star tight end — he’s the only four-star recruit on the Orange’s current roster — and switched to defensive line after an injury-filled redshirt year in 2012.

At the time, Lester was two years away from implementing his own offense but pictured Thompson running post routes in his spread attack. Syracuse had other plans, and Thompson’s athleticism made him a movable piece in Daoust’s unit.

Thompson rotated in at defensive end as a redshirt freshman and finished with 20 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. As a sophomore, he was shifted inside to defensive tackle and collected just 32 tackles, seven tackles for loss and three sacks while starting all 12 games.

“He never griped one bit to me. He wanted to be on the field,” Daoust said in August. “Physically, tackle is a different position and there’s a lot more opportunities to double-team a guy like him inside. I’m sure he’s glad he got the experience but never wants to do it again.”

Now, he’s four games into his first-ever season as a full-time starter at defensive end, and he’s making the most of time and space.

After only playing in special situations against Rhode Island in Week 1, Thompson heated up against in Central Michigan in Week 3 with five solo tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks and two forced fumbles. In Syracuse’s 34-24 loss to LSU in Week 4, Thompson had a sack-fumble with just three linemen rushing the passer, and batted down a Brandon Harris pass later in the game.

Next, it’s on to Tampa Bay, then Charlottesville, Virginia, and then the rest of the Orange’s season. There are more offensive tackles to dance around. More double teams to split. More effort to tap into and consistency to find.

Thompson, by his coaches’ estimations, is only getting started.

“He does at least one thing a day where I’m like, ‘Huh? Really?’” Lester said. “And then I realize it’s Ron Thompson and it all makes sense.”

Published on October 7, 2015 at 8:48 pm

Contact Jesse: jcdoug01@syr.edu | @dougherty_jesse