High schools countdown: Sabino's Luke Thompson is a ball-hawk with a chance to do more as a senior

Editor’s note: The Star is counting down the 22 best high school football players in Southern Arizona in the days leading up to the season.

Name: Luke Thompson

Rundown: Thompson is a 6-foot-1-inch senior at Sabino. He primarily plays linebacker but also sees time at tight end and fullback.

Who he is: Thompson is a “naturally-gifted playmaker on the defensive side of the ball,” coach Ryan McBrayer said. The senior enters his final high school season as the unquestioned leader of the Sabino defense.

On Friday nights, Thompson’s purple No. 5 jersey can be found wherever the football is. His 102 tackles in 2019 — an average of 8.5 per game — were second on the team.

Thompson lines up when the Sabercats have the ball, too.

“He’ll just do it all,” McBrayer said.

Thompson could take an even larger role, if that’s possible. Marceise Stubblefield, who led the team with 112 tackles in 2019, has graduated.

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The plan in 2020 is for Thompson to have his biggest impact on defense.

“We got a lot more depth within the program. So it’s looking good and he can really focus on the defense,” McBrayer said. “When we need to punch it in, he’ll be there on the offensive side.”

Proof he’s good: McBrayer views his senior linebacker as an extension of the coaching staff, pointing out Thompson’s unique ability to shift his teammates around before the snap to put them in the right position.

“He can diagnose tendencies a lot quicker than somebody that’s a deer in the headlights eyes,” McBrayer said “He’s able to slow the game down, move people around and give us as many advantages as we can do to win the game.”

And, while his specialty is linebacker, don’t overlook Thompson’s offensive capabilities.

Two Sabercats running backs were banged up in the build-up to last year’s Class 3A state quarterfinal game, and guess who got first-team reps at that position during practice?

“We told (Thompson) he might be starting as our tailback, and he jumped right in and did what he could,” McBrayer said. “He had a great game on offense, while playing both sides of the ball.”

He said it: “I mean, you can look at his stats as a junior and that kid is pretty much in every tackle imaginable. And now, football IQ wise he’s higher.” — McBrayer