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Oaks Christian Back Decommits from USC, Huskies Move in with Offer

Johnny Thompson Jr. turned in a 229-yard rushing half this fall.
Dan Raley|
Oaks Christian Back Decommits from USC, Huskies Move in with Offer
Oaks Christian Back Decommits from USC, Huskies Move in with Offer

People haven't been paying proper attention to Johnny Thompson Jr. these days.

A swift 5-foot-10, 185-pound tailback, the junior running back from Oaks Christian School got loose for 229 yards and 4 touchdowns rushing on just 7 carries — in the first half of a playoff game against Pacifica. 

The only thing that stopped him was an ankle injury suffered early in the next half.

Then there was USC. 

After receiving Thompson's oral commitment in late October when Dontae Williams was interim coach, the Trojans quit showing the elusive back the attention he wanted when Lincoln Riley took over.

Thompson decommitted last Wednesday. 

Spotting an opening here, Kalen DeBoer's University of Washington coaching staff on Friday extended a scholarship offer to the runner from Westlake Village, California, and the Class of 2023. 

Thompson comes off a weird season in which Oaks Christian lost its first five games and then made the playoffs, won three of four postseason contests, and finished 7-7.

Showing off a notable burst, the running back carried the ball 147 times for 949 yards and 9 touchdowns, 10 overall. He finished with three 100-yard or better outings. He also caught 24 balls for 181 yards.

Thompson also pulled time at cornerback and picked up 15 tackles and an interception.

Before pulling out of his USC commitment, Thompson received an offer and visited Oregon. In the accompanying Twitter photo, the back doesn't appear real enthusiastic about forming the O.

He no doubt reminds the Ducks of the diminutive Travis Dye, their leading rusher who transferred to USC ... and whose addition might have dulled some of the Trojans' interest in Thompson. 

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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