Defying Expectations

STARR THOMPSON ’19 MAKES A DIFFERENCE ON AND OFF THE FIELD

Perhaps the first thing you’ll notice about Starr Thompson is his vibrant smile. For someone still so young in his career as a football coach and mentor, he seems so assured and at ease with himself. And he strives to make you feel that same ease, as if you’ve known him your whole life.

Originally from Oldham County, Thompson searched for a school and a football team that would feel like home when, late in the recruitment process, Georgetown College came calling. “You know, everyone says they went to visit that right school, and they just knew,” says Thompson. “That’s what happened when I visited Georgetown.”

Thompson is a natural leader. Maybe it’s that smile or his apparent self-assurance. Either way, it’s something that Coach Cronin saw early on as well. “Coach told me he saw me as a future captain when I visited campus. I don’t know if that was just his recruiting pitch, but he ended up being right.”

As a football player, Thompson arrived on campus a couple of weeks before most students, giving him time to get acclimated to his surroundings and forge connections. In his football team, he found a community of young men, and in Georgetown College he had found a new home, just as he had hoped. What he may not have expected was to see action on the field as a true freshman defensive back.

ON THE FIELD

“I was able to compete,” says Thompson. “That was really my goal coming into my freshman year. Seeing a little playing time as a true freshman was a bonus at that point.”

When talking about his time on the field, he’s always focused on his teammates and the collective group. When asked about his highlights as a player, he answers without using the word “I,” which is quite an accomplishment.

“Our sophomore group was just a great group of guys! We gave everything on the field, and we were going to go as far as our talent would take us.” That team would make it to the quarterfinals of the national tournament, losing a close game to the number-two ranked Reinhardt University.

“Honestly, one of my favorite football memories is a game I didn’t play in, my senior day,” says Thompson. That senior day game in 2019 against Cumberland University is already a legendary game in the College’s history. Down 35-7 with 25 minutes to go, the Tigers began to rally. Unfortunately, Thompson had to watch from the sidelines after a nagging year-long injury finally caught up with him.

“At halftime, I was stretching it out, feeling it, trying to think of whatever I could do to get on that field and help out my teammates,” he says. “That wasn’t in the cards, but to see my teammates rally and come back like they did, I was just in awe!” The Tigers would go on to win the game 4235, scoring 35 unanswered points in a historic comeback victory.

FORGING RELATIONSHIPS

“When I first got to Georgetown, during orientation, one of the leaders mentioned that he met his wife while he was in school,” says Thompson. “He told us we’d be surprised at the long-lasting relationships we would form, maybe even meet our own lifelong partner.” He laughs, a knowing smile on his face.

Thompson initially brushed off these claims. “I thought, ‘Yeah, yeah, not me.’” But then he met Georgetown College women’s basketball player Kennedy Flynn. It all started at a Georgetown College Athletics media day when Flynn was aiding with some of the football roster photos. “I got up there to take my photo, and I said, ‘I bet you don’t know how to spell my name.’ Sure enough, she got it right. She looked at me and said, ‘Oh I know who you are.’ I guess the rest is history.”

Flynn is a Georgetown College legend in her own right. A women’s basketball star, she scored 1,092 points in her Georgetown career, only 12 points shy of being in the top20 all-time point leaders at the College.

Much like her now-husband, though, Flynn’s on-thecourt talent is eclipsed by her kindness, care, and servantleadership. “She’s incredible,” says Thompson. “She’s always there to help those who need it. Being able to walk through life with someone like that, who pushes you to be better, is something special.”

IN THE COMMUNITY

Despite his gridiron success, Thompson has become known around the College more for his work in the community than his work on the field. During his time as a football player at the College, he wanted to make an impact on the lives of young people, so he started an annual youth football camp at the College. All the proceeds from the camp go to benefit the Ed Davis Learning Center in Georgetown.

“I remember what it was like to have those coaches in my life making an impact, so I wanted to start this camp. Being able to help the Ed Davis Learning Center in the process is just amazing. When I was thinking about starting the camp, I talked with them and knew they were making a difference in the community. It was a no-brainer.”

In December of 2020, his work with the camp brought him national attention. He was nominated for the Mazda Community Hero Award by his longtime friend and teammate Matthew Longstreet. The award would be presented on Good Morning America, so on December 2, 2020, he hopped on a Zoom call to find out who the winner of a brand-new Mazda Miata would be. What Thompson didn’t know was that all three nominees, including him, were winners.

“It was surreal,” he says. “Here I am on a Zoom call on Good Morning America with NFL hall of famer Michael Strahan.

I was like is this really happening? I should have known, though…” He pauses and smiles. “Matthew was coming over that day to be part of it, and he was just being so weird and then said that there was a news station outside because there was a wreck. That should have tipped me off to something, but I think part of me didn’t want to believe it yet.” Of course, that camera crew was for Thompson, parked outside his house alongside his new car. “I remember when they told us we had all won and that we needed to go outside, the walk to the door felt like a hundred yards. I get outside, and I see Kennedy and the camera crew, and it was just impossible to believe.”

CHANGING LIVES

Now, Thompson serves as an assistant coach on the men’s football team, a colleague to the men who shaped him.

“Coach Cronin told me that if I ever wanted to come back and help out, the door was open. When the pandemic hit, it put a hold on some of my plans, so I thought ‘Why not?’” When asked about what’s next for him, rather than talking about coaching or other career goals, his reply defies expectations. Starr Thompson isn’t like everybody else. “I’m looking to start a prison ministry.

There are so many people who have made mistakes but are worth saving, who deserve a second chance. It’s not the most glamorous work, but my heart is being stirred in that direction.”

He flashes that vibrant smile again, and it’s impossible not to feel that he’s destined to change a few more lives.