LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Louisville receiver Jadon Thompson was in the right place at the right time last fall as he and Cardinal teammates helped right an overturned vehicle after an accident just outside the Cardinals’ stadium.
On Saturday, Thompson showed the same good on-field timing to help Louisville steamroll Austin Peay 62-0.
The senior had a career-best two touchdown catch — from 33 and 5 yards — and finished with three catches for 44 yards. Thompson had several yards on a defender when Tyler Shough’s off-balance throw found him in the right corner of the end zone to make it 24-0.
“I got open because people were doing their jobs, running their routes,” Thompson said afterward while seated next to fellow receiver Ja’Corey Brooks. “The first one was because of this guy right here (Brooks), got the rub (route) for me and I came wide open.
“And the second one, Tyler just made a great read. Got the ball out fast. I feel like I’m more comfortable now because I’m healthy.”
Thompson’s opening-game achievement came nearly a year after Louisville Metro police thanked him and several Cardinals for coming “to the rescue” after an accident Sept. 21 at the southeast corner of L&N Stadium. The players and another motorist flipped the wrecked vehicle from the driver’s side back onto its wheels before first responders arrived.
The woman driver sustained minor injuries in the accident, the LMPD video post said. LMPD did not identify the Louisville players who helped in the rescue, although football spokesperson Rocco Gasparro said then that Thompson, a Cincinnati transfer from Chicago, was one of them. Thompson and teammates were leaving the nearby practice facility that day and the player indicated his vehicle was hit by another car.
“Fortunately, we had players around that were at the light as well, so our instinct was to help the lady,” Thompson recalled. “We went to go help the lady and make sure she was OK and got the attention that she needed. So, it was just an instinct thing for everybody to do. Flip the car back over, make sure she’s OK.”
Thompson caught 12 passes for 135 and a TD in 12 games last season and entered the season with 59 receptions for 794 yards and two scores. His role could become bigger this season with transfer Caullin Lacy sidelined up to eight weeks with a broken, and Saturday offered hints of his big-play potential.
“I felt a little pressure because it was like, so sudden,” he said. “But these guys helped me step in that role and fill Caullin’s shoes.”
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