2022 Texas Speedster Brenen Thompson Impressed with Notre Dame & Lance Taylor

Notre Dame has found success on the recruiting trail in Texas over Brian Kelly's tenure and the Fighting Irish are back in the Lone Star State. 

On Friday, Notre Dame running backs coach Lance Taylor was able to connect and offer one of the fastest players in the country in 2022 Spearman (Texas) athlete Brenen Thompson‍. 

"It was great," Thompson told Irish Sports Daily. "He told me a little bit about Notre Dame because I didn't know much about it. I only knew Notre Dame was a very prestigious college with great academics and great football. 

"He also explained how they want to play me. The whole offensive staff was already arguing about where they wanted me." 

Thompson sees himself as a slot receiver, but Taylor and other programs want the 5-foot-10, 165-pounder at running back, but the Irish would love a chance to simply put the ball in his hands. 

"Coach Taylor mentioned he wanted me to play running back since he was the running back coach," laughed Thompson. "The quarterback coach wanted me to play a little bit of quarterback and the receiver coach wanted me to play receiver."

While the two didn't have a relationship before Friday, Thompson was impressed with how Taylor came across. 

"I thought he was awesome," stated Thompson. "I could understand him easy and we got to know each other a little bit. I'm looking forward to getting to know him a better over my recruitment." 

Spearman isn't known as a football factory as the population of the town is just over 3,000.

Thompson holds offers from over 20 programs like Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Florida State, Michigan, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M and USC. 

He admitted he’s enjoying the attention, but not for the reasons you might think. 

"It's a blessing not only to me but also to my family and everyone in this community," explained Thompson. "It can be done and it can get done. I'm taking these offers and attention and using it to my advantage. I'm trying to help lift people and kids in my community that wants to do the same thing. It's been a big blessing to me." 

Why is the Spearman star so coveted? It's easy. Thompson ran a 10.3 in the 100m and put up wild stats last fall. 

He completed 71-of-116 passes for 1,080 yards, 14 touchdowns and three interceptions while adding 1,494 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns on 163 carries. 

Thompson also caught 24 passes for 317 yards and four touchdowns. He added another 421 yards and two touchdowns as a returner.

On defense, Thompson recorded 75 tackles, four TFLs, five interceptions, 12 PBUs and two forced fumbles.

Oh, and he ran a sub-4.4 last summer.

"I haven't clocked an official time in the 40," said Thompson. "I hand-timed 4.37 last summer."

Thompson being a 2022 prospect, means he has to take responsibility in contacting coaches, but there are a few programs he's in contact with consistently. 

"Nebraska has been on me a lot," Thompson said. "Texas A&M has been on me a lot. There are a few other ones that have really been on me. 

"It's hard to tell right now because they can't really contact me until September 1st. They can't shoot me a text, so I have to call them." 

While it's early in his recruitment, Thompson believes trust will go a long way in finding his future home. 

"It's important for me to go to a school and play for coaches I can trust," said Thompson. "The trust factor is really big for me. I want to be able to fit in. That's the big thing I'm looking at and I know my mom wants me to be taken care of and trust the coaches as well."