UTEP tight end Trent Thompson is from Houston, Texas and has been playing football since he was 8 years old and has fallen in love with the sport since.
Thompson is a senior accounting major set to graduate in the summer of 2022. He plans to get his Certified Public Accountant (CPA) as well as his master’s.
“My plans after I graduate with my bachelor’s degree is to continue with my master’s and I’ll probably do an internship this summer and just go from there,” Thompson said.
Thompson explained that at the age of five, he would go out to the street and play football with his neighbors and his favorite thing about playing football is the memories that he has made.
“I just wanted my parents to sign me up and they did,” Thompson said. “I look back at my childhood, and I’m like, ‘wow, I really came a long way.’ I’m a lot healthier now and I remember watching college football with my mom, dad, and my brother, and we would watch it all day.”
Thompson has not always played tight end, when first starting at UTEP, he was a defensive lineman.
Thompson explains that coach Dana Dimel made the decision to move him to tight end. Being at tight end has allowed Thompson to score his favorite touchdown as a Miner at the PUBG New Mexico Bowl against Fresno State where he scored a 51-yard touchdown on a 4th down trick play.
“We got a signal from Isaiah Bravo on the sideline, and I looked at Calvin (Brownholtz), we made eye contact and we just knew it was going to be a great play, and that was actually my second touchdown of the game,” Thompson said.
When Thompson takes the field, he is inspired by his future and the people around him. He explains that it can be hard to get up sometimes in the early hours of the morning to practice, but he looks up to his parents because they always told him to never quit.
“First off its God, my parents, and then myself,” Thompson said. “I really wanted to (quit) when I was younger because I had asthma and it was hard to run. Now, I’m a lot better.”
When asked about what it meant to him to be a member of the team, Thompson said that it has meant a lot. Once he graduates, Thompson explains that he is going to miss the friendships made here.
“I just can’t wait to see where we’re about to go,” Thompson said. Thompson explains that the legacy that he wants to leave behind when he graduates is he wants to be remembered as someone who went out there and did his job.
“I’m a quiet player. I don’t get much attention, and that’s just fine. But I just want people to know that I was a nice Christian athlete who was quiet and just did his job,” Thompson said.
Thompson was UTEP’s primary tight end target in the 2021 season and recorded nine receptions for 133 yards, along with four touchdowns. All stats for Trent Thompson are courtesy of UTEP Athletics.
Katrina Villarreal is a staff reporter and my be reached at [email protected].
