The opening night of the AHSAA Super 7 had a familiar ending.
There was the Thompson High football team on the field, jumping around head coach Mark Freeman as he lifted a championship above his head. The best team in the state’s largest classification reached the mountaintop for the fourth consecutive season. Thompson’s seniors have developed a few traditions throughout their run. Reach the title game, put on a lei necklace — a trend started by alum Taulia Tagovailoa — and, usually in the case of the elite recruits, enroll at Alabama in January.
Since 2019, Thompson has produced six players ranked in the state’s top 10 on 247Sports’ rankings. Four have at least started their college careers in Tuscaloosa, starting with Tagovailoa and Amari Kight to current Tide freshmen Jeremiah Alexander and Tre’Quon Fegans. But the latest group handled a few things differently.
For one, the heart of the celebration was an 8th-grader that tied a state record. Players appeared to outgrow the necklace habit, opting to wave four fingers as high as they could. Yet, the biggest deviation from a typical Thompson coronation was revealed through its roster. In what would be one of the biggest recruiting surprises of the cycle, the Crimson Tide may not secure either of the Warriors’ nationally-coveted five-stars: Peter Woods and Tony Mitchell.
Woods, No. 33 overall, committed to Clemson over Alabama prior to the season. The Tide were such big favorites for the 6-foot-3, 270-pound defensive lineman that when he announced, angry fans questioned the job stats of Alabama coach Freddie Roach. In Mitchell’s case, a June verbal pledge to Alabama hasn’t slowed pursuits by Texas A&M and Auburn for the third-ranked safety in the country. Mitchell scheduled his final visit before signing day with the Aggies, too, potentially foreshadowing a flip.
Simply put, the Thompson-to-Bama pipeline is in flux.
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According to defensive coordinator Shawn DeFoor, the Warriors run a “watered-down” version of Nick Saban’s defense. Terms, like Bama labeling its hybrid-safety ‘star’ (Mitchell’s likely future position), blend the two systems. Thompson’s scheme isn’t nearly as complex as the Tide’s, yet, the slight similarities are a potential discussion topic and icebreaker between college coaches and prospects.
Woods and Mitchell flexed their knowledge of Thompson’s playbook against Auburn High in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Woods bull-rushed the punter to force a mishit. Mitchell, in his first game back from a right ankle sprain, locked down his assignment on one deep route and smacked the pass away. The duo combined for six stops, including two tackles for loss and a pair of pass breakups.
“(Saban) is a Fortune 500 Businessman and I run a business, who am I going to go listen to? At least (players) get some familiarity,” DeFoor said. “If there’s one technique they can carry over to the next level, they won’t leave that meeting going, ‘I’m the dumbest guy.’”
Multiple Alabama assistants have made the 57-mile drive from Bryant-Denny Stadium to 1921 Warrior Parkway and Thompson’s $19.2 million, Division I-like facilities for a glimpse at the newest talent. When they get there, players aren’t starstruck. They’ve seen them and other college scouts before. DeFoor estimated 15 coaches attended their last spring game.
2021 signee Jeremiah Alexander said after Thompson’s three-peat he was “in the ear” of Woods and Mitchell every day, trying to convince them like he did Fegans, who flipped from Miami, to choose Alabama. Ultimately, Alexander conceded, it’s their choice.
“I played with a lot of those guys. They kind of took me under their wing when I came up as an eighth-grader and freshman, kind of teach me how to be in-game,” Woods said of Thompson’s alums. “Some of the leaders of the group, the Jacksons and the Jeremiahs and the Tre`Quons. … It means a lot, just being that guy passing that (leadership) torch down.”
As expected, Thompson has some major pieces returning and with them comes more connections to Tuscaloosa. Fegans’ younger brother, Anquon is currently ranked as the No. 1 2024 safety and has already made contact with Roach, the Tide’s area recruiter. Anquon said he talks with his brother almost daily. Quarterback Trent Seaborn, who won the championship MVP before starting high school, is close friends with the Tagovailoas.
In the coming years, both underclassmen are likely to be on the Tide’s radar. But if Woods sticks with Clemson and Dabo Swinney and Mitchell’s eyes a future in College Station, Texas, Seaborn and Anquon Fegans may be reigniting an old tradition instead of extending one.
Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at NAlvarez@al.com.
