In a profession where everyone is living the dream, few are doing it to the extent of Dolphins rookie safety Ced Thompson, the fifth-round pick from Minnesota.
"To be here," Thompson said during rookie mini-camp, "coming from L.A., living a really rough childhood growing up, and then going to Bombay Beach living in a population where it's a maybe 100 people and everything is abandoned…and the water is polluted and everything.
"Oh, man, I can't really put into words how I feel. It's an unbelievable feeling."
Thompson, who became an Academic All-Big Ten selection after becoming the first in his family to graduate high school, is viewed mostly as a special teams player by the Dolphins.
He was second on the team at Minnesota with 83 tackles last season (he also had two interceptions). As a junior in 2013, he led the Gophers with 79 tackles.
"Late in the draft these are the types of guys that you want to add to your roster," said Chris Grier, the Dolphins' director of college scouting.
Safety is among the Dolphins' deepest positions with starters Reshad Jones and Louis Delmas being backed up by Michael Thomas, Walt Aikens, Don Jones, and Jordan Kovacs. It'll be tough for Thompson to creep up that depth chart.
"The depth chart is not really something I'm worried about," Thompson said, "because if I go out here and do my job and give 100 percent effort every day, whatever my role may be will take care of itself."
Thompson has already attracted the eye of coach Joe Philbin. "He's a guy that finishes drills, listens well, follows directions, wants to do things the way you coach it," Philbin said. "Obviously there are a lot of things to correct, but I think he's shown those attributes that we thought he had."
Thompson was steeled by extreme circumstances.
He used to wake up at 4 a.m. to take a two-hour bus ride to high school. After a cousin was shot and killed, his parents wanted to escape gang-riddled South Central Los Angeles so badly they moved to Bombay Beach, a barren, desolate patch of land in the Sonoran Desert with a population of about 300.
The bus would pick up 10 kids in Bombay Beach, and then wind through Southern California's hot, arid mountains and coves to pick up another eight kids.
"The worst part," Thompson said, "was having no A/C on the bus."
It was a rough life in Bombay Beach, a town with no gas station or hospital. But it was better than living in South Central Los Angeles, where you tried to stave off death, not boredom.
"That's the environment where I was from," Thompson said. "When you're walking down the street going to school you were looking behind your back because you don't know what's going to happen."
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-dolphins/fl-dolphins-ced-thompson-20150517-story.html
"To be here," Thompson said during rookie mini-camp, "coming from L.A., living a really rough childhood growing up, and then going to Bombay Beach living in a population where it's a maybe 100 people and everything is abandoned…and the water is polluted and everything.
"Oh, man, I can't really put into words how I feel. It's an unbelievable feeling."
Thompson, who became an Academic All-Big Ten selection after becoming the first in his family to graduate high school, is viewed mostly as a special teams player by the Dolphins.
He was second on the team at Minnesota with 83 tackles last season (he also had two interceptions). As a junior in 2013, he led the Gophers with 79 tackles.
"Late in the draft these are the types of guys that you want to add to your roster," said Chris Grier, the Dolphins' director of college scouting.
Safety is among the Dolphins' deepest positions with starters Reshad Jones and Louis Delmas being backed up by Michael Thomas, Walt Aikens, Don Jones, and Jordan Kovacs. It'll be tough for Thompson to creep up that depth chart.
"The depth chart is not really something I'm worried about," Thompson said, "because if I go out here and do my job and give 100 percent effort every day, whatever my role may be will take care of itself."
Thompson has already attracted the eye of coach Joe Philbin. "He's a guy that finishes drills, listens well, follows directions, wants to do things the way you coach it," Philbin said. "Obviously there are a lot of things to correct, but I think he's shown those attributes that we thought he had."
Thompson was steeled by extreme circumstances.
He used to wake up at 4 a.m. to take a two-hour bus ride to high school. After a cousin was shot and killed, his parents wanted to escape gang-riddled South Central Los Angeles so badly they moved to Bombay Beach, a barren, desolate patch of land in the Sonoran Desert with a population of about 300.
The bus would pick up 10 kids in Bombay Beach, and then wind through Southern California's hot, arid mountains and coves to pick up another eight kids.
"The worst part," Thompson said, "was having no A/C on the bus."
It was a rough life in Bombay Beach, a town with no gas station or hospital. But it was better than living in South Central Los Angeles, where you tried to stave off death, not boredom.
"That's the environment where I was from," Thompson said. "When you're walking down the street going to school you were looking behind your back because you don't know what's going to happen."
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-dolphins/fl-dolphins-ced-thompson-20150517-story.html