WO-S grad rolls with Crimson Tide

For The Record- Dave Rogers

Deionte Thompson just missed out on back-to-back state high school championships with the West Orange-Stark Mustangs.

Call it bad timing.

Or not.

Thompson is looking to help Alabama win back-to-back national college football championships next Monday when the Crimson Tide faces off against Clemson.

While WO-S knocked off Celina 22-3 and won the 2015 Class 4A title, Thompson was redshirting his first season at Alabama, watching as the Tide defeated Clemson 45-40 to win the NCAA championship.

This time, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound defensive back is a special teams stalwart and backup safety for coach Nick Saban’s Tide, which is 14-0 and attempting to be the first wire-to-wire No. 1 ranked team to win a national championship since Southern California in 2004.

That seems like a pretty good consolation prize for missing the 16-0 Mustang season that ended just before Christmas with a 24-6 win over Sweetwater.

“It’s a big thrill to see one of your athletes on TV like that,” West Orange-Stark coach Cornel Thompson said of Deionte Thompson.

“He’ll make a big contribution there before he’s through. He’s smart. He doesn’t make mistakes and he makes great decisions. So his time is coming.”

Deionte Thompson has been credited with seven tackles for the Southeastern Conference champs in 2016, including two each against Ole Miss and Florida.

At WO-S, Thompson intercepted 15 passes as a two-way standout, playing both receiver and defensive back. He was a senior on the Mustangs’ 2014 state championship runner-up squad.

He was one of the top recruits in the nation in the winter of 2015, picking Alabama over Florida State, LSU, Stanford, Texas, Texas A&M and Southern Cal.