Thigpen wastes no time in displaying his speed at UCLA

When UCLA tested its football players last week in the 40-yard dash, Damien Thigpen was nervous.

It had been two years since he had run a time in the 40 in large part because he was already known for his quickness.

But now, he was an incoming college freshman facing fellow speedsters and he wasn’t sure how he stacked up.

On his first run, he clocked in at 4.31 seconds. That drew some attention, but on his second run, he generated even more chatter — recording a personal-best 4.28. The facial expressions from onlookers told Thigpen he had done something impressive when he crossed the finish line.
| The only thing was he didn’t initially know was how impressive the time was. It wasn’t the best time among freshmen or running backs. It was the best time of anyone on the team.

Thigpen was shocked. He had enjoyed plenty of success as a multiple state track champion hurdler at Stonewall Jackson, but this was something new and unexpected.
| “I was excited that I had run that fast,”  Thigpen said. “I was on cloud nine.”

To top things off, Thigpen ran a 4.0 in the shuttle, a time that was also the best of all the players.

Neither was a small achievement.

Thigpen, the News & Messenger’s Indoor and Outdoor Boys Track Athlete of the Year, is one of a number of track standouts among UCLA’s freshman football class, among them wide receiver Randall Carroll, a first-team high school football all-American from California who ran the state’s fastest time in the last 17 years in the 100 meters, and Sheldon Price, a defensive back from California, who had posted a 10.51 in the 100.

Thigpen’s performance last week only reminded him why he was in the right place. Thigpen had originally committed to Tennessee, but after Phil Fulmer was replaced by Lane Kiffin, Kiffin made it clear that the Volunteers would honor Thigpen’s scholarship, but that Thigpen was no longer in the program’s future plans.

The last-second development 10 days before National Signing Day left the Thigpens searching for another program that had expressed an interest in Damien before he committed to Tennessee.

UCLA was the first school Thigpen’s father, Doug, called. Thrilled about the opportunity to land such a talented player so late in the process, Bruin head coach Rick Neuheisel offered Thigpen over the phone.

“This is the perfect spot for me,” said Thigpen, who is a member of a recruiting class that was ranked among the top 15 in the nation. He’s the only freshman on the roster from Virginia.

Thigpen has been at UCLA this summer, taking two classes as well as working out with the team by doing weight lifting and conditioning and running 7-on-7 drills. He is rooming with fellow freshman running back Dalton Hilliard from Hawaii.

Thigpen returns home Friday for a week and then will head back out the first week of August with his family, who is relocating to the Los Angeles area for Doug Thigpen’s work. UCLA begins practice Aug. 10.

Thigpen, who was recruited by the Bruins as a running back but he said he could see some time at wide receiver, said he’s enjoyed his newfound independence by living on his own. But when questions arise about adjusting to life as a college football player, he always seeks the advice from his father, who played football at Southern Mississippi.

“I’ve been able to get into the flow of things,” Thigpen said. “It’s been a smooth transition.”

Sports editor David Fawcett can be reached at 703-878-8052.