The new number on his jersey is the first thing you notice, but it's only a hint of the transformation for Florida State wide receiver Warren Thompson.
Twelve months ago, Thompson was buried on the Seminoles' depth chart. The former four-star recruit had arrived in Tallahassee weighing 212 pounds -- about 15 pounds heavier than he is today. He felt "sluggish" on the field, and he wasn't able to show off the speed that made him one of the nation's top receiver prospects.
Like every player on the Seminoles' roster, Thompson also was frustrated by losing in 2018. One year after helping lead his Seffner-Armwood team to the Florida Class 6A state championship game, he was part of a Florida State program that lost more games than it won.
And worst of all, he couldn't do anything about it. The 6-foot, 3-inch wideout was redshirted with a dozen other players from his freshman class.
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With so many players across the country -- including some of his own Florida State teammates -- entering the NCAA's new transfer portal in search of a fresh start at another school, Thompson admits he contemplated that as an option. But with the guidance of family members and mentors, the talented wideout decided to stick it out with the Seminoles.
"I'm not gonna say that didn't come up in my mind," Thompson told Warchant. "But I knew I had a purpose for being here. There's a reason that I'm here. I think there's a reason for everything. So for me, leaving ... I feel like I'd be running from my problems instead of attacking them. So I had to stay patient and persistent.
"I kept praying, and I knew that things were gonna work out."
Florida State's 2019 season opener against Boise State is just nine days away, and things appear to be working out even better than Thompson could have imagined.
Through a series of serendipitous events, he now is being guided by two of the coaches he liked most during the recruiting process -- even though they were at different programs at the time -- and he's getting to do it at the school he's loved since childhood.
