The passes kept coming his way.
It was not by design or by plan. It was just the way things worked out this day. This Friday night in Cleveland against the Cleveland Gladiators.
Quarterback Randy Hippeard would step back, survey his options as a veteran quarterback would do and fire the ball toward Brandon Thompkins.
It happened time and time again. Five times on this day. Hippeard could have time to throw and heave it deep and trust Thompkins would be there. He could avoid pressure and dart the ball into a closing hole and trust Thompkins would be there.
It is a trust he has built with all of his receivers. With the way Arena Football is often set up, someone is bound to be open. Having a multitude of options only make Hippeard’s job that much easier.
Friday was just Thompkins’ turn as he won Arena Football’s Offensive Player of the Week with 337 all-purpose yards and seven touchdowns, including 123 yards on nine catches for five receiving touchdowns.
“Brandon Thompkins is a great player,” coach Rob Keefe said. “Really what happens is we have such a great team when somebody’s number is called that much and another guy might be double teamed, it’s your job to step up. For Brandon it happened to be his night. If Brandon is the guy they key on, somebody else is going to step up. I expect every receiver that we have on the field to be able to have seven touchdowns a night.”
Thompkins leads the Predators with 469 yards on 36 receptions with a team-high 13 touchdowns. He has emerged as the team leader. But there are several other great options for Randy Hippeard.
Greg Carr has 29 catches for 382 yards and eight touchdowns. And LaMark Brown has 27 catches for 300 yards. These are three stellar wide receivers bunched up very close together. So while the Predators do not have the best passing attack in the pass-happy Arena Football League, they have three distinct weapons to take advantage of any defense.
“The relationship between all of us is we all know we are all capable of a big play on any play and any down,” Thompkins said. “We all believe in each other and believe in our quarterback and also the line to give us time to do what we do.”
Hippeard said any time there are receivers as dynamic as the Predators’ group of receivers, it makes his job and makes the job for offensive coordinator Matthew Saulk all the easier to have all these options available.
The record certainly speaks for itself.
What makes it even better is just how different and complementary those receivers are. Thompkins is the most balanced of the trio, with good speed to avoid tacklers. He returns kicks too. Greg Carr has the size and power. Hippeard relies on him to snatch balls out of the end zone and to go up and get passes sent into the stands. And LeMark Brown is a good slot and possession receiver-type player. He gets those tough yards.
Between the three, the Predators can beat teams any way the defense choose. It is a difficult choice for defensives to manage and a big key to the Predators success.
“It is such a big weapon to have depth,” coach Rob Keefe said. “It is such a big weapon to have depth that is great. We’re not bowling, we’re not playing tennis, we’re not out there by ourselves. It’s the ultimate team sport. To have depth in every single position is a big reason why we are 5-0.”
What makes this group different is how together and connected they are.
Keefe lauded his team celebrating each one of Thompkins touchdowns as their own and noted that is a big reason for the team’s success. It does not matter who scores the touchdown, just that somebody did.
Thompkins too was humble in the face of his big game. He said he recognizes it as a big accomplishment, but he would not be there without his quarterback making a great throw or even his offensive line giving Hippeard the time to throw it.
The group complements each other well on the field and is tight knit off it.
No one knows which receiver is going to be the one to step up this week as the Predators take on fellow undefeated team, the Arizona Rattlers, at the Amway Center. There is a growing confidence that the defense cannot cover all three of these weapons and someone will emerge.
“Any time you step on the field as a quarterback, you have 100 percent belief of your guys with the ball,” Hippears said. “Any time someone straps up our color jersey for any game day, I believe my guy is better than you. I think as a quarterback, you just have to have that belief.
“On game days I don’t see BT or LaMark or Greg, I see our jersey versus their jersey. It’s really whoever is open is getting the ball. if they overcompensate to cover one guy that week, then somebody else is going to step up and have a big game. To have all four of them as an option, is a pleasure.”
