Every recruiting cycle, one of the most looked-at pieces of information about prospective student-athletes within each signing class is the ratings given out by the national recruiting services. The higher the number of stars a player is given, the higher not only the expectations placed on the individual by fans and coaches, but also the higher the their own personal expectations and pressures they may put on themselves.

For University of South Alabama senior cornerback Jalen Thompson, the journey from his prep career at St. Paul's Episcopal School to his senior season with the Jaguars has provided many ups and downs.

Thompson, who first wore a helmet around the time he was 18 months, started out his career on offense and played quarterback for a majority of his early career, but then fate moved the 6-foot senior to the other side of the ball during his eighth-grade season after an injury to one of the senior cornerbacks on the varsity team.

The transition to the new position and the new side of the ball wasn't smooth at first, as Thompson struggled with the fundamentals of the position.

"I didn't know how to backpedal or really understand what a cornerback had to do to be successful," he explained. "I had always studied the game from the offensive standpoint. I had always read what cornerbacks do, but I wasn't really familiar with what the cornerback position had to do. It took me a year-and-a-half to get my feet wet and get my eyes in the right place."

Thompson was immediately thrown into the fire, as the first quarterback he faced was eventual Heisman Trophy winner and first overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft, Jameis Winston, who was considered the top-rated dual-threat quarterback in the nation that season at Hueytown (Ala.) High School.

"It didn't go too well," Thompson reminisced when asked how that performance went.

The following season, Thompson made the change to the defensive backfield full time. The multi-sport player credits his other sport, baseball, to aiding his transition that season.

"Baseball helped me with my ability to track the ball, especially on long pass plays," Thompson said. "It also helped me have great feet and allowed me to use my instincts. I played shortstop and center field most of my life. If your first read and first steps are off at those positions, you most likely weren't going to be able to get to the ball. That kind of helped me with football.

"Being a two-sport guy also kept me in shape and out of trouble. For the most part, it kept me busy and my mind off of things. I just went from sport to sport."

From then, Thompson's play at the position began to be noticed by collegiate scouts.

"I would have to say my ninth-grade year I kind of started to be noticed, but it didn't take off until my 10th-grade year when I led the state in interceptions," he said.

During that season, Thompson picked of eight passes and helped the Saints go 11-3 while reaching the semifinals of the state playoffs. Thompson went on to set the program record for career interceptions with 22.

Many schools started to take notice of Thompson's talents as he received offers from several Power 5 programs. Early on in the process, Thompson, who grew up a Florida fan, committed to the Gators.

However as the recruiting process progressed, Thompson felt the need to take a different path and ultimately flipped his commitment to South.

"I wanted to prove to other players that it didn't matter whether you went to a Power 5 school or a Sun Belt [Conference] school, if you stayed focused and remained grounded, you could achieve any goal you had," Thompson said of his decision to sign with South Alabama. "When I committed here at South, it was for something bigger than myself.

"I have some little cousins and other friends from where I grew up who really don't have too much to look forward to in the Bayou, but on Saturdays they could tailgate and come watch me play. Signing at South gave me a chance to be a role model and give kids from that area hope. That was a big reason why I chose to come to South and play close to home.

"I wanted to try and be a hometown hero."

Thompson continued to flourish during his final prep season as he was selected to the AL.com Super All-State Team and was named first-team all-state after being credited with 40 tackles, five interceptions, five pass breakups, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, one sack and a blocked kick while leading St. Paul's to a 15-0 record and the state 5A title. On offense, he finished with 35 receptions for 470 yards and nine touchdowns and returned six kicks for touchdowns as part of the Saints' special teams units.

Thompson arrived at South rated as a three-star recruit according to Rivals.com, Scout.com, ESPN.com and 247Sports.com, and was considered among the top-35 prospects in the region and top 100 in the country by Scout.com. ESPN.com also considered him among the top 55 nationally at the position, and he was ranked among the top 25 prospects in the state by 247Sports.com.

For a program, which at the time was just in year seven of its existence, getting the commitment and eventual signing of such a talented and highly-rated local player was monumental.

In his first season with the Jaguar program, Thompson appeared in all 12 games with his two starts coming at Nebraska and against Louisiana. He finished the 2015 campaign with 25 stops and tied for second on the team with five pass breakups. He also had one interception, forced a fumble and blocked a kick.

Thompson, who was also a standout on the baseball diamond at St. Paul's —  where he earned first-team all-state accolades his final year at shortstop after posting a .492 batting average with seven home runs, 36 RBI and 37 stolen bases — had initially planned on being a two-sport athlete at South.

However, that never materialized and Thompson decided to focus on football and step away from the game he loved.

"When I first got to South and chose to ultimately stick with football, it was hard," Thompson said. "There were some nights that I felt great about my decision and some where I regretted making it. I wouldn't even watch baseball after making the decision."

As a sophomore, Thompson recorded 31 tackles and led the Jags with four interceptions. He was second on the squad with six additional passes broken up and he ranked sixth in the Sun Belt Conference in interceptions and tied for sixth in passes defended per contest.

Even with the solid numbers, Thompson, had higher expectations and felt he didn't meet them. As a result, Thompson started down a path that would ultimately lead to him missing a season.

"I did put a lot of pressure on myself, but I've been putting pressure on myself since I was six years old," Thompson said. "When I committed here and had all of the hype, I just wanted to live up to it. When I didn't live up to it during my sophomore year, that's when I started going down the wrong path. I had put so much pressure on myself and bottled it all up, that it finally came out at the wrong time. I wasn't using my anger in the right places as far as out on the field.

"I would get home and just sit by myself and not want to be bothered by anyone, which turned into me not wanting to go to class and other things like that. At first I handled the pressure well, but ultimately it got to me."

In addition to the mounting pressures that Thompson placed on himself in relation to his performance on the field, the freedoms granted to college students out on their own proved to be a dangerous combination.

"When I first arrived at South, I was fully focused and had my mind on the right things," Thompson said. "Coming from a school like St. Paul's where there was so much structure and organization, I was in a good place. At St. Paul's they literally told you where to go all the time, and you only had about seven minutes to get from place to place. When I got to South, I had so much free time on my hands and being a young kid, I didn't take advantage of my opportunities. I was focusing on all the wrong things like partying instead of watching more film and other things like that."

Thompson's decisions eventually led to him being ruled academically ineligible for the 2017 season.  The year away from the game for the first time in a long time was a difficult one.

"I felt like I lost myself," Thompson said of the year away from the game. "My first year without football, I knew I messed up. I couldn't put the blame on anyone else. It took until November of that fall for me to realize that I needed to just own up to all of my mistakes. I had to rediscover myself, dig down deep and not give up. There were nights where I felt like I wasn't going to be able to come back. I knew if I stayed down I wasn't going to be able to fix my situation. I told myself, 'You put yourself in this hole, so you're going to have to get yourself out of it.' That's what I did; I just put my head down and did the work."

Following the 2017 season, South transitioned to a new coaching staff and Thompson wanted to set things straight right away, especially with his position coach.  "When Coach [Josh] Jones first got here, he called me and I came to the football fieldhouse because I wanted to meet him face-to-face. I already knew he was going to hear things about what I had been through, so I wanted to tell him man-to-man about what had happened."

"Coming in, we knew the situation with Jalen and what he was dealing with having been ineligible the year before," Jones said. "It was about structure; someone needed to have a thumb on him. I told him from day one that I was going to stay on him and I've done that since I got here."

Following that meeting, Thompson, Jones and academic advisor Summer Stover came up with a plan on how to help Thompson be more organized and focused in his academics.

"Coach Jones just really took me under his wing and helped provide me with structure like I had at St. Paul's," Thompson said. "I had had that structure since elementary school and when I got back to that structure of having someone stay on me, it made me want to do better."

In his brief time with Thompson, Jones has noted a change in the senior defensive back.

"I've seen Jalen mature and really take ownership of things," Jones said. "When I first got here, he was a big 'It's someone else's fault' or 'it wasn't his fault' guy. He's now gotten to the point where he's taking ownership and accountability of things, and understanding the role that he plays in his mess ups and his past mess ups. I think that's helped him want to be better as far as not letting himself or others down."

Thompson did what he needed to in the classroom and returned to the Jags for the 2018 season.

How did it go personally on the field for Thompson?

"Last year to me was awful," he said. "I wasn't prepared mentally for a whole season. Being out an entire year, I had forgotten how to get my body in shape and all of the other things I needed to do in order to prepare myself. I owned up to it and told all of my teammates and myself that I was going to need to work 10 times harder than I had ever worked so that didn't happen again."

A conversation with his mom in January following the season also seemed to be a turning point for Thompson.

"About six days before classes started I sat down with my mom and we talked about the fact that I couldn't have the same attitude and focus going into this season. It was a new year, and I still had the chance to play college football for one more year. If I dwelled on what happened last year, it could turn it into another long season, or I could turn it into the greatest finale that you always planned it to be."

In preparation for his final season in a South uniform, Thompson has put on 15 pounds in order to get his body in better shape for the 12-game season, while also working on the mental aspect of the game.

"Last season, I didn't trust my instincts like I had my entire life," he said. "I'm a very instinctive player and that's what I rely on. I went back to trusting myself. If I see something and it gives me the right look that I want, I'm going to go do it.

"I just want to be able to focus on the little things like keeping my feet under me at all times and not making any mental mistakes. Being a senior, I had to focus on making everyone else around me better."

With a young group at the cornerback position, Thompson has tried to be a leader and example for the group. One player he has taken under his wing is junior Devin Rockette, who has had a similar path as Thompson. Rockette was a freshman at South in 2017, but like Thompson, academics forced him to spend last season at East Central C.C. before arriving back in Mobile.

"I've just told him that we can't take things for granted," Thompson said. "Since he's come back to our program, I can tell that he moves a little bit different and he's more attentive. He pays more attention to detail because he's seen how he almost lost his opportunity and now he has it back."

"When everything wasn't going too well for me in the classroom [during my freshman year], he [Jalen] told me that he'd give anything to do everything right again," Rockette recounted. "When I had to leave and go to junior college, he just told me to stay up and handle my responsibilities, and that eventually I'd be back on top. When I came back, he just told me that now was the time to lock in, and I couldn't have any more mishaps. We just try to build each other up and hold each other accountable."

Thompson — who is already tied for the career interceptions lead at South — is ready to take full advantage of the opportunity given to him in his final collegiate season.  His next opportunity to take over the standard on his own comes on Saturday when the Jaguars open up the home schedule at 6 p.m. at Ladd-Peebles Stadium against Jackson State.

Whether that, and other school records, comes this weekend, next month or not at all, Thompson's journey will have made his time in the South Alabama football program valuable regardless of whether or not fans believe he lived up to the hype.

"I'm blessed to be back on this team after all that I've been through and the opportunities I messed up," he said. "If you just keep going, there is a purpose to everything you go through."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics.  Contributions to the South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give
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