2020 Chicago WR Jadon Thompson Looking Toward Notre Dame Return

Jadon Thompson‍ was thinking about getting down to South Bend for Notre Dame’s opener against Michigan earlier this month, but the schedule didn’t work out for the 2020 Illinois wide receiver.

Still, the Marist High School star’s head coach does believe he’ll be back eventually after a trip back in June.

“I envision him taking a trip down there at some point, probably during the season,” Marist head coach Ron Dawczak said.

Thompson has already emerged as a major Midwestern prospect with offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Illinois, Cincinnati, Purdue, Missouri, Iowa and Boston College among others.

“I think he really is the total package as a wide receiver,” Dawczak said. “He’s got the size teams are looking for at the next level. He’s about 6-2.5 and he’s still growing, so he’s got great length. He’s got phenomenal hands. He has a feel for the game as a receiver that is rare among high school receivers that I’ve come across.

“He runs very good routes. He sets up defenders. He understands the intricacies of the position. He had that when he came in as a freshman. The coaches would look at each other and say, ‘Wow, we haven’t seen kids who know how to run a route and set up a defender so that he’s going to be open on his break.’ Just little things.”

Dawczak envisions the 165-pounder from Chicago packing on some pounds as he gets older.

“Right now, he’s tall and lanky,” the coach said. “I know he’s going to be putting down weight as he matures physically in high school, but when he goes to college, the college coaches are going to throw 20, 25 pounds on him easily.

“One of the things he worked on this past offseason was his strength. He got a lot stronger. He had a phenomenal year as a sophomore, but he was tall and skinny. He’d never really stepped foot in a weight room. He had a great offseason, worked really hard and his strength really, really improved. He really has the hands, the speed and the strength going for him now too, so I really believe he’s the full package.”

Even without an offer at this point, the Irish do have his attention.

“Just the fact that they have the national exposure,” Dawczak explained. “It’s a brand name. The name Notre Dame carries a lot of weight, especially in Chicago. There’s a great tradition of Chicago players going to play at Notre Dame. I think the ability to potentially play at a university with such great tradition would definitely have an attraction for anybody in Chicago and I think Jaydon is no different.”

Thompson is a standout away from the field as well, according to his coach.

“He’s a great kid,” said Dawczak. “The teachers in the building, when I bring up his name, everybody has good things to say about him. He’s a great young man, very respectful. He’s a hard worker in football and also in the classroom. He’s a great young man, he shows great character. He’s a joy to coach and he’s a great addition to our high school.”