SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The nation's top-ranked athlete recruit according to 247Sports, Sacramento (Calif.) Grant standout Shaq Thompson says he could have his college decision made by Thursday. He won't make his school of choice public until Saturday during the NBC broadcast of the U.S. Army All-America Bowl.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Thompson tells 247Sports that California and Washington are the front runners heading down the stretch. His mother will arrive in San Antonio on Thursday, and that's when he plans to iron everything out.
Thompson has known the California coaching staff for awhile, with his older brother Syd'Quan having played for the Bears from 2005-09.
"I've been down there so much because my brother was there," Thompson said. "The coaches, the coaching staff, all the coaches have been cool with me since my brother was there. They've been cool ever since."
Throughout the recruiting process, Washington has been one of the schools recruiting Thompson the hardest, and the Huskies have had recent success recruiting Grant in landing freshman safety James Sample.
"Just to be with my (former) teammate, we have that connection and team chemistry," Thompson said. "It would be fun in the secondary playing with him every day."
Thompson added that three other programs not completely out of it for him are Notre Dame, Oregon and USC.
"It will come down to what's best for me educational wise and Plan B if I don't make it to the league, what can I do after?"
Ranked as the nation's No. 10 prospect overall, this fall, Thompson rushed for 1,056 yards and 15 touchdowns while passing for another 836 yards and eight scores. However, he better projects as a safety on the next level.
Fighton247's Scott Schrader contributed to this report.
- Steve Wiltfong
- National Recruiting Writer - 247Sports