Casey and Kendal Thompson could barely contain their excitement, as a sea of OU fans flooded to OU’s Max Westheimer Airport.
Moments before, on the night of Dec. 5, 2021, OU announced then-Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables as the program’s head coach following Lincoln Riley’s abrupt departure to USC. At the time, Casey was still the quarterback at Texas but felt like any other born and raised Sooner fan: excited to see their new head man hit the tarmac.
“Kendal, let's go down to the airport and meet Venables,” Casey said to his older brother, as he watched the scene unfold on TV.
Kendal, a former OU quarterback from 2011-13, had to stop his brother from leaving their house in Moore. Their Sooners’ fandom started with watching old tapes of their father, Charles, who played for OU from 1987-88, before watching games on the sideline and being recruited by the program in high school.
“He was texting BV’s sons (Jake and Tyler Venables) and they sent Casey a picture when they were on the plane about to come (to Norman),” Kendal told the OU Daily.
Three seasons, four transfers and several injuries later, Casey announced his commitment to the Sooners and Venables as a preferred walk-on on Jan. 11. Thompson’s journey spans from Texas (2019-21), Nebraska (2022) and Florida Atlantic (2023) before receiving a seventh-year medical hardship waiver from the NCAA earlier this offseason. His well-traveled college football path will end where his dreams began – in Norman.
The night of his commitment, Casey intentionally announced his decision on Jan. 11 at 6 p.m. After all, 1-11-6 are the numbers Kendal (No. 1) and Charles (No. 6) donned at OU, and No. 11 is what he’ll wear in 2024 to cap off the family’s legacy.
Dear Oklahoma, I’m coming home...🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/HG27EWJlCO
— Casey Thompson (@LilThurm) January 12, 2024
“To have not only one son, but to have another that’s going to be able to wear the crimson and cream, that in itself is just a tremendous blessing,” Charles told the OU Daily. “I couldn't say that I'm anything but excited for it.
“He felt that this was the right move for him this time. Two years ago, maybe it wasn't. Three years ago, four years ago, maybe it wasn't; it's a rare situation because of the COVID-19 year and because of the unfortunate part of the timing of his injury. That put him in a situation where he was granted a seventh year … To me, it’s almost like fate.”
Casey’s road to the Sooners wasn’t easy. At Texas, Casey injured his thumb and eventually needed surgery in 2021. He suffered a season-ending labrum tear with the Cornhuskers in 2022 after starting 10 games. The next season, Casey tore his MCL and ACL in September with the Owls. He’s been through two head coaching changes — Scott Frost’s departure at Nebraska and Tom Herman’s at Texas — before settling in Norman.
Despite playing for OU’s archrival and historic foe, he kept a close eye on his childhood team each Saturday, getting excited about OU’s wins and disappointed after its losses. Those fleeting moments have come full circle with Casey’s commitment.
A blessing for me and my family. God is good. Get to do what I love, be back home, and enjoy time with family. One last ride with a great program with great support, resources, and a special community. Excited to be back with my church, family, and friends. Can’t ask for anything…
— Casey Thompson (@LilThurm) January 12, 2024
Without question, he will serve as backup to former five-star recruit and sophomore quarterback Jackson Arnold, but his experience comes at a pivotal time. He’s one of the most tenured quarterbacks in college football. The Sooners are entering their first season in the SEC. In six seasons, Casey has completed 508 passes for 5,338 passing yards and 62 total touchdowns.
For Jeff Brickman, Casey’s high school coach for three seasons at Southmoore and one at Newcastle, his love for OU and collegiate experience will pay dividends in the lockeroom.
“He's a high achiever, and he thinks like a coach … I've coached over 20 years and I've never met anybody, including myself that loves football as much as Casey. …That's who Casey is. So at OU he’ll embody that culture, and he’ll embody Venables’ mindset. I think that's only gonna help the whole room, and I think it's gonna permeate throughout the entire football team.”
If, or when, his number is called, he’ll be ready to fill the role.
“Obviously Jackson's gonna be the guy down there,” Kendal said. “I think everybody understands that. He's fully aware of that, but he's not gonna change how he prepares. He's gonna prepare every day like the (No. 1) guy because that's how he's wired. If the opportunity ever presents itself to where he is needed, I think he'll be ready if his number is called.”
Fifth-year linebacker DaShaun White tackles Nebraska junior quarterback Casey Thompson during the game against Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska on Sept. 17, 2022.
‘He took the scenic route’
While Casey’s journey has been unorthodox, the experience was an even larger oddity for Charles, who has lived and breathed OU football his entire life.
His father led the Sooners, and their famous wishbone offense, to an 11-1 record in 1987 as a freshman under former head coach Barry Switzer in the Big Eight. That season Charles finished with 731 rushing yards, 232 passing yards and 11 touchdowns. Charles continued his dominance in Switzer’s offense in 1988, posting a career-high 824 rushing yards and 11 total touchdowns.
His career came to an abrupt halt in 1989 when he was arrested for dealing cocaine outside OU’s dorms and was sentenced to two years in federal prison.
He passed down his love for the game to Kendal and Casey. In 2000, when the Sooners won their seventh national championship, Kendal and Charles stayed with the team at the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami. Years later, Casey joined the pair for OU’s appearance in the Orange Bowl and their loss to Florida in the 2009 BCS national championship.
Charles still has pictures of him and his sons on the field clad in crimson after the Sooners 24-14 loss to Tim Tebow’s Florida.
When Charles reflects on those memories, he would never have guessed in his wildest imagination Casey’s college career would play out like it has.
The most unusual moment for Charles, however, was when he was surrounded by burnt orange and screaming Texas’ fans inside the Cotton Bowl in 2021.
“That is the first time that I can tell you, probably in my whole entire life,” Charles said, “that I went into a game rooting for the Longhorns vs. OU, which was an oddity for me.”
In that season, Casey finished with 2,113 passing yards and 24 passing touchdowns after sitting behind Sam Ehlinger for two years. His best game came against OU, when he threw for 388 passing yards and five touchdowns, before losing to the Sooners and then-quarterback Caleb Williams 55-48.
It wasn’t the last game his father and Kendal would have to root against OU. Casey transferred to Nebraska, and went toe to toe with Venables and OU in 2022. He was largely a non-factor in a 49-0 blowout loss, finishing with 129 passing yards and one touchdown.
Afterward, Thompson made a point to navigate the postgame melee to give Venables a hug.
“It's funny because when he was in Texas and Nebraska, obviously as a family we still loved OU,” Kendal said. “But for him and out of respect for the programs he was at, he's got to be bought into what they have going on. Part of him he had to (let go). I wouldn’t want to say he hated OU… but as a competitor you wanna beat who’s lining up against you.”
In between those moments, however, Casey had several opportunities to commit to Oklahoma. As a high school recruit, former OU head coach Bob Stoops and Riley, then an offensive coordinator, recruited him heavily before he landed with Texas.
After committing to UT, Casey strongly considered jumping into the portal and joining the Sooners until former OU and now-Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts left Alabama and committed to Riley in 2020, ending all of Casey’s consideration.
After three seasons with the Longhorns, Herman’s firing and the transfer of Quinn Ewers, he entered the portal with his eyes on Oklahoma and Nebraska. Thompson’s longstanding relationship with then-wide receivers coach Cale Gundy and Venables led the duo to recruit him to compete against Dillon Gabriel, who became OU’s two-year starter.
Casey opted for a starting spot with the Cornhuskers instead, due to former OU offensive coordinator and now-Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby’s relationship with Gabriel and the want for an instant-impact opportunity. From that moment on, Charles and the rest of the Thompson family assumed his chances of playing for OU were over.
After Frost’s midseason firing, another season-ending injury and Matt Rhule’s new regime, Casey decided to rejoin Herman at FAU for any semblance of consistency and stability he could find. That ended after he tore his ACL three games into his sixth season.
In December, the quarterback was granted a medical waiver and he made his first call to Venables, asking if he had a spot on the team.
Initially, Kendal and Charles were skeptical.
“My dad wasn't really on board with it,” Kendal said. “Even I — from a football standpoint — I didn't really think it was a great idea either at first. I was like ‘Jackson, I mean, he's the guy. I mean, we've all been around here. I'm here like I told you, I'm here local. So I've watched Jackson pretty heavily in the early action. He's a heck of a player with a great young future for us and even past that.”
With time, Charles and Kendal saw that Casey was set on cementing his family’s legacy and returning home for his final season, even if it meant accepting a lesser role.
“He took the scenic route, but he ended up where his heart always wanted to be,” Kendal said.
“With coach Venables — the way we go back with those guys — there was a trust factor that was there. There were some other opportunities out there for him to go be a starter but, with the injuries and everything that's happened… I think he feels blessed and fortunate that Venables and his program welcomed him with open arms."
‘A win-win for everybody’
For Oklahoma, bringing in Casey makes sense.
Before his transfer, the Sooners quarterback room consisted of Arnold; redshirt junior quarterback General Booty; freshman quarterbacks Michael Hawkins, Brendan Zurbrugg and preferred walk-on Andy Bass, who tore his ACL in his final high school season. Thompson has more years of college football under his belt than the rest of OU’s quarterbacks combined, and will also bring significant talent behind Arnold.
Not only did OU lack experience in its quarterback room last season, but the Sooners will usher in new co-offensive coordinators Seth Littrell and Joe Jon Finley, who are replacing Lebby. While Littrell has been a head coach at North Texas and offensive coordinator, it's Finley’s first time in such a position after being a tight ends coach at OU, Missouri, Texas A&M and Mississippi.
OU made Casey’s pitch to Venables that much more intriguing.
“It was a win-win for everybody,” Charles said. “That's a very young room regardless of how you look at it. Casey has been in the position of each and every one of them. … He’s been a backup quarterback. He's been a third-string quarterback. He's also been a starter. So, when he's inside the room, he'll be able to speak to every situation.”
Notably, OU has seen its share of quarterback injuries in the past. In 2023, Arnold stepped in for Gabriel when he suffered a concussion at BYU in week 11 of the regular season. With poise he stepped up and closed out a 31-24 victory over the Cougars in damp, dreary conditions in Provo.
His most decisive throw came on a third-and-7, when he lasered a ball over the middle to Jalil Farooq. The Sooners also have seen the ugly side of a quarterback injury. Without Gabriel in 2022, due to another concussion, the Sooners had to rely on backup quarterback Davis Beville vs. the Longhorns.
His performance led Lebby to sporadically find more success with a Brayden Willis-led wildcat formation throughout the 49-0 loss. Beville, who transferred to South Carolina after the 2023 Alamo Bowl, finished the game with 38 passing yards and one interception. With Casey’s presence, a similar situation is avoidable.
Notably, the Thompsons’ have come in when the Oklahoma’s needed them most. Charles, who began his career as a backup, replaced former OU starting quarterback Jamelle Holieway in 1987 after he tore his ACL early in the season. Kendal played several snaps as a backup quarterback in OU’s win over Oklahoma State during the 2013 Bedlam, when Trevor Knight separated his shoulder.
“He's played enough ball and had enough experience,” Kendal said of his younger brother. “Without the starter reps throughout the week, he knows how to mentally prepare and step in if his numbers are called upon… if that does happen.”
Jeff Brickman, Casey’s former high school head coach at Southmoore and Newcastle, saw first- hand the coaching element Thompson can bring to the Sooners’ inexperienced quarterback room.
He watched Thompson mentor younger players in high school and observed the team-first humility that makes him a locker room leader.
“What doesn't kill you makes you stronger,” Brickman said. “He's just a resilient person. He always has a positive attitude. When we look back at all the years from now we'll see how it all relates (to the end of his career).”
‘Truth is stranger than fiction’
Days before Casey’s commitment to the Sooners, he sent pictures of him in OU’s uniform to friends and family, a sign that he was close to an announcement.
Brickman was one of the first people to receive a text. A smirk lit up his face before he replied to Casey by saying, “It looks normal. It looks like this is where you were destined to be.”
Brickman likens Casey’s career to a quote from Mark Twain that he teaches to his players and high school students to this day.
“Truth is stranger than fiction because fiction has to be believable, whereas truth has no boundaries,” Brickman said. “I just think in my mind, the way that I look at it, he has such a unique and interesting story when it comes down to all the injuries but also just being at these different places (in his career). And then knowing the type of person he is, I think that there's gonna be a good ending in Norman.”
No situation can surprise Casey. All he’s been through will serve him in any role in 2024 and beyond.
“It's about preparing to go out and face your opponents,” Charles said. “There's a process and getting yourself prepared, and anyone that he's been under and been around… Casey is particular about the preparation. I think that's what has allowed him to be successful — if he is lacking any physical components — which we feel like he really doesn't, but he makes up for for his mental preparation. I think that's what he does best.”
Above all, Charles and Kendal are happy he’s finally “home.”
They won’t have to support the Longhorns or Cornhuskers any longer. They can travel 15 minutes from Moore to Norman and support Casey on the field they’ve always called home.
“He was born and raised a fan,” Kendal said. “It's just a different pride and a different intensity that you have when you're born and raised. You know what it means to put on that helmet with that “OU'' logo on the side of it. It's just a different feeling.
“Regardless of how much Casey plays on the field … he’ll make sure the guys know what it means to be a Sooner."
