TAMPA – We caught up with Jesuit Head Coach Matt Thompson on Wednesday as the Tigers prep for Leto this week. Last Friday, the Tigers pounded Trinity Catholic 38-0 moving their record to 2-0 on the season. Before the season began, Thompson started with one of the county’s best running backs in Malik Davis who tweaked his knee slightly, but should return either this week or next–just in time for district play to begin when Jesuit takes on Jefferson.

We asked Coach Thompson about where Davis ranks in terms of some of the other great backs he’s seen in his time at Armwood. We also asked the coach about coming over to Jesuit from the perennial powerhouses in Seffner and if there were any glaring adjustments he had to make. We ask the coach about his staff and how they’ve helped him develop this Tigers team into an odds-on favorite to win the district. All of these things and a few more as we talk with Jesuit’s man-in-charge…

BCP: Coach, you’ve seen some pretty good running backs in your time even though you were coaching the defensive side of the ball, where does Malik Davis rank in terms of what you’ve seen throughout your seasons as coach in-general?
MT: “Each running back is a little bit different, Eric Smith was a power back that would fool you with his speed, Corey Baker was a shifty guy–Matt Jones, who is an even better receiver than he is a runner, I’d rank him right up there. If he was at Armwood, he would be running the ball there, too. I’d rank him right up there with some of the best.”

BCP: When you left Armwood after all those successful seasons, you directly stated that the only job you would ever leave the Hawks for was this one. Over at AHS, there’s a wealth of talent and the stable is constantly full, but Jesuit doesn’t lack for talent either. What has been the biggest adjustment coming from Armwood to Jesuit?
MT: “There really wasn’t an adjustment. I didn’t need to adjust the game plan or anything like that whether it’s defense or whatever Really it’s just about doing a better job of developing what we have–I think with this being my third year and with this group of seniors having been with me for three seasons now we’ve done a good job of it and done it the right way.”

BCP: What about the staff’s impact? Obviously it takes more than just one person to teach and develop.
MT: “That’s a pretty broad question, but I want to talk about 3 coaches–one is Joey Gerena the Offensive Coordinator–this is the first time I’ve had the same offensive coordinator coming back and it’s his second year–I think him working with the offense gives it a sense of continuity and familiarity–the kids know what they’re doing–they’re not having to learn a whole new offense—-on defense we kind of combine–I hired Bubba Steinestel from Bloomingdale and Kyle Jones along with Mike McEnany to work along the defensive line and those guys have got the defense working out really well.”

BCP: Has the mantra changed coming from Armwood to Jesuit?
MT: “It’s always going to stay the same–we’re not gonna change the mantra–we might adjust the defense a little bit with what we can coverage-wise and front-wise, but we’re not going to change anything up.”

BCP: The district looks a lot different than it did just three weeks ago…any thoughts?
MT: “We’re just gonna take it one game at a time, I’m not even looking into district play just yet–I’m concentrating on Leto this week–we’re gonna play them as hard as we can and hopefully come out of it injury free and then the following week with Jefferson–I mean it’s interesting; each team is going to peak at a different time, with Spoto last season we beat them pretty good in the regular season and then had to pull one out of the hat in the playoffs. It all depends who’s peaking at the right time.”