DaytonDailyNews.com

OXFORD — When he first tried it in the fifth grade, Jeff Thompson hated football.

"My dad made me play," recalled the Miami University junior cornerback. "I had been playing baseball. I don't know, I just didn't have the mentality to start out with. I was used to hitting baseballs, not people."

His father, Jeffrey Thompson, apparently knew something about his son, though. A couple years later Jeff saw the light.

Or rather, felt the thrill of a good hit.

Thompson remembered the day he changed his attitude toward football.

"I got a really good hit in the seventh grade and I thought, man, this is really fun," he said.

"It was a crazy feeling. I went up against an eighth grader," Thompson said. "I was playing linebacker, and there was a running back coming around the corner. I hit him, and then there was a tingling feeling, and I thought, man, this is a good feeling."

He has been specializing in hard hits — and having a heck of a good time — ever since.

Thompson is rated as one of the better defensive backs in the Mid-American Conference. People still talk about his hit that caused a fumble against Buffalo late in the fourth quarter, a fumble recovered by teammate Travis Craven which helped preserve a 31-28 victory last Nov. 3.

Thompson sat out spring practice, recovering from a strained hip flexor.

"I couldn't really run, but I've been re-habbing and I'm back on the field now," he said. "It happened near the end of last season, and really got bad after playing Central Michigan (in the MAC Championship Game).

"Oh, I'm good to go," he added, "100 percent ready to go."

Thompson didn't always play defense.

"I played running back in high school a little bit, but I've always loved defense," he said. "I've always felt that defense is kind of like a family. I know the team is a family, so it's sort of like a family within a family. Players are unselfish. Plus, I love hitting people."

Thompson has become a leader on Miami's defense. He's a natural, because it seems the more he plays football, the more he loves the game. Baseball must seem a long way off now.

"I try to inspire the guys," he said. "I talk a lot, try to get people motivated, try to get them excited about being out there. It's not always easy to be excited about being out in the heat.

"In football, you have an adrenaline rush," he continued. "You're just out there yelling and screaming and having a good time. In football, you're allowed to do that, and that's what I'm good at."

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.