Skylar Thompson’s college HC sends warning to rest of NFL: ‘I think he’s gonna light it up’

Miami Dolphins quarterback Skylar Thompson will make just the third start of his NFL career in the team’s game against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. But Chris Klieman — who coached Thompson at Kansas State University — suggested that he thinks Thompson plays at the top of his game when he’s dealing with adversity.

“Skylar’s a flat winner,” said Klieman, who stays in touch with Thompson. “When adversity sometimes is at the highest is when I think he performs the best.”

He also implied that the 27-year-old will have a great game in his first start of the 2024 regular season.

“I think he’s gonna light it up,” Klieman said. “I know he’s ready for this moment.”

Thompson has been tasked with spearheading the Dolphins’ offensive attack now that Tua Tagovailoa is on injured reserve after he received a concussion against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 12.

The former suited up in the game in question after Tagovailoa suffered his injury, and he totaled 80 passing yards while completing eight of his 14 passing attempts.

Prior to his appearance against the Bills, Thompson hadn’t played in an NFL regular-season game since the 2022 campaign. He played seven games (two starts) and totaled 534 passing yards, one passing touchdown and three interceptions as a rookie. Also, he led the Dolphins to a 1-1 record in the games he started that season.

Dolphins fans should be excited to find out how Thompson will fare in his first start in some time, which will come against one of the better defenses in the NFL so far this season. The Seahawks have allowed only 40 points across their first two games of the season. Only 10 teams in the NFL have allowed fewer points on the season to this point.

Seattle gave up 20 points to the Denver Broncos in its season opener on Sept. 8 and 20 more to the New England Patriots one week later on Sept. 15. The Seahawks won both games and currently sit atop the NFC West with a 2-0 record.

Here’s to hoping that Thompson will be able to keep the Dolphins afloat in the AFC East standings while Tagovailoa recuperates from his injury. Klieman — at the very least — seems to think that Miami is in good hands with Thompson as the team’s temporary starting quarterback.