2023 Football Roster
Roster
Thompson, Jalen
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Jersey Number 55
Jalen Thompson
- Position:
- DL
- Ht./Wt.:
- 6-3 / 260
- Class:
- Freshman
- Hometown:
- Detroit, Mich.
- High School:
- Cass Technical
Bio
Third-year defensive lineman and two-year letterwinner has played in 20 games with 16 consecutive starts (four in 2023, 12 in 2024) . . . has recorded 36 career tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss (11 yards) and 2.0 sacks (5 yards), adding three pass break-ups and one forced fumble . . . named Michigan State’s 2025 nominee for the inaugural Big Ten Jackie Robinson Community & Impact Award, which was established in 2025 to recognize student-athletes at Big Ten institutions who strive to have a positive impact not only in their chosen sport, but also within their community . . . in addition to receiving Academic All-Big Ten, Academic All-District and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar recognition in 2024-25, Thompson has also organized a youth camp in his hometown of Detroit the past two summers that supports anti-gun violence initiatives, and he has also hosted a “Cleats 4 Kids” camp in Lansing.
2024 SEASON (SOPHOMORE): Started all 12 games . . . tallied 17 tackles with 2.0 TFLs (3 yards) and one pass break-up . . . played a total of 376 snaps, ranking second among defensive linemen and ranking ninth overall on the defense . . . also made 35 appearances on special teams . . . Academic All-Big Ten, Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and Academic All-District honoree . . . credited with three tackles while playing 20 snaps vs. Rutgers . . . opened Purdue game at defensive end, logging one QB hurry in charting 33 snaps . . . drew starting nod at Illinois, recording four tackles with 0.5 tackle for loss, logging 41 snaps . . . started Indiana game and charted 33 snaps . . . tallied two tackles with 0.5 TFL in charting 31 snaps at Michigan . . . started Iowa game and tallied two tackles, with 0.5 TFL (2 yards) in logging 25 defensive plays . . . got starting nod at Oregon, posting one tackle in 30 snaps . . . opened Ohio State game at defensive end and posted 29 snaps . . . started game at Boston College at defensive end, tallying two stops with one QB hurry in playing 34 snaps . . . was starting defensive lineman in Prairie View A&M game, tallying one tackle with 0.5 TFL (1 yard) in posting 17 snaps . . . started in game at Maryland, recording one stop in 41 plays . . . started season opener vs. Florida Atlantic at defensive end and logged one tackle in 40 snaps.
2023 SEASON (FRESHMAN): Played in eight games to earn his first letter . . . started the final four games at defensive end (vs. Nebraska, Ohio State, Indiana and Penn State) . . . collected 19 total tackles (four solo, 15 assists) . . . ranked fifth on the team with 4.5 tackles for loss (20 yards), including 1.5 sacks (5 yards) . . . played a total of 211 snaps on defense . . . credited with a total of 10 QB pressures, according to PFF . . . also had two pass break-ups and one forced fumble . . . had one tackle and one PBU in his hometown of Detroit at Ford Field vs. Penn State . . . tallied two tackles, with 0.5 TFL (1 yard) and one pass break-up in 40 snaps at Indiana . . . drew second straight start and first in a road game at Ohio State, tallying two tackles in posting 25 snaps . . . started Nebraska game, the first of his Spartan career, and responded with five tackles and 2.0 sacks (5 yards), with one forced fumble and one QB hurry in 35 snaps . . . tallied three tackles with 2.0 TFL (2 yards) in Minnesota game, charting 46 snaps . . . logged four tackles in game against Michigan, registering 29 snaps . . . did not see action in four games (Rutgers, Iowa, Maryland, Washington) . . . tallied two tackles in Richmond game, logging defensive and special teams snaps . . . made Spartan debut with limited defensive and special teams action in season opener vs. Central Michigan.
HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL DATA: Consensus four-star prospect (Rivals, ESPN, 247Sports, On3) . . . consensus No. 1 defensive end prospect in the state of Michigan for the Class of 2023 (Rivals, ESPN, 247, On3) . . . member of the Rivals250 (No. 222) and ESPN300 (No. 170) as one of the best overall players in the country . . . rated the No. 13 overall player in the Midwest by ESPN.com . . . ranked among the best defensive ends in the nation by Rivals (No. 16), ESPN (No. 22), On3 (No. 38) and 247Sports (No. 38) . . . listed as one of the top overall players in Michigan by Rivals (No. 3), 247Sports (No. 4), ESPN (No. 4) and On3 (No. 6) . . . three-year varsity letterwinner at Detroit Cass Tech High School . . . helped lead Cass Tech to a 9-4 record, the Detroit Public School League (PSL) title and a berth in the Michigan Division 1 state semifinals his senior season in 2022 . . . first-team all-state selection by the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association (MHSFCA) and The Associated Press . . . named to the MHSFCA Dream Team, Detroit Free Press Dream Team, The Detroit News Dream Team and the MLive Metro Detroit Dream Team . . . named the winner of the State Champs Player of the Year Award for the state of Michigan . . . also named to The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press All-Detroit Team . . . finished the season with 53 tackles, including 15 tackles for loss and 12 sacks . . . had 30 tackles, including 12 TFLs and 10 sacks, as a junior in 2021 while earning MLive Metro Team Dream Team honorable mention . . . recorded eight sacks and two forced fumbles as a sophomore in 2020 as Cass Tech advanced to the Division 1 regional finals Owns a 3.74 grade-point average . . . played for Coach Marvin Rushing at Cass Tech High School . . . son of Kevin and Saquanda Thompson . . . advertising management major owns a 3.85 GPA.
2024 SEASON (SOPHOMORE): Started all 12 games . . . tallied 17 tackles with 2.0 TFLs (3 yards) and one pass break-up . . . played a total of 376 snaps, ranking second among defensive linemen and ranking ninth overall on the defense . . . also made 35 appearances on special teams . . . Academic All-Big Ten, Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and Academic All-District honoree . . . credited with three tackles while playing 20 snaps vs. Rutgers . . . opened Purdue game at defensive end, logging one QB hurry in charting 33 snaps . . . drew starting nod at Illinois, recording four tackles with 0.5 tackle for loss, logging 41 snaps . . . started Indiana game and charted 33 snaps . . . tallied two tackles with 0.5 TFL in charting 31 snaps at Michigan . . . started Iowa game and tallied two tackles, with 0.5 TFL (2 yards) in logging 25 defensive plays . . . got starting nod at Oregon, posting one tackle in 30 snaps . . . opened Ohio State game at defensive end and posted 29 snaps . . . started game at Boston College at defensive end, tallying two stops with one QB hurry in playing 34 snaps . . . was starting defensive lineman in Prairie View A&M game, tallying one tackle with 0.5 TFL (1 yard) in posting 17 snaps . . . started in game at Maryland, recording one stop in 41 plays . . . started season opener vs. Florida Atlantic at defensive end and logged one tackle in 40 snaps.
2023 SEASON (FRESHMAN): Played in eight games to earn his first letter . . . started the final four games at defensive end (vs. Nebraska, Ohio State, Indiana and Penn State) . . . collected 19 total tackles (four solo, 15 assists) . . . ranked fifth on the team with 4.5 tackles for loss (20 yards), including 1.5 sacks (5 yards) . . . played a total of 211 snaps on defense . . . credited with a total of 10 QB pressures, according to PFF . . . also had two pass break-ups and one forced fumble . . . had one tackle and one PBU in his hometown of Detroit at Ford Field vs. Penn State . . . tallied two tackles, with 0.5 TFL (1 yard) and one pass break-up in 40 snaps at Indiana . . . drew second straight start and first in a road game at Ohio State, tallying two tackles in posting 25 snaps . . . started Nebraska game, the first of his Spartan career, and responded with five tackles and 2.0 sacks (5 yards), with one forced fumble and one QB hurry in 35 snaps . . . tallied three tackles with 2.0 TFL (2 yards) in Minnesota game, charting 46 snaps . . . logged four tackles in game against Michigan, registering 29 snaps . . . did not see action in four games (Rutgers, Iowa, Maryland, Washington) . . . tallied two tackles in Richmond game, logging defensive and special teams snaps . . . made Spartan debut with limited defensive and special teams action in season opener vs. Central Michigan.
HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL DATA: Consensus four-star prospect (Rivals, ESPN, 247Sports, On3) . . . consensus No. 1 defensive end prospect in the state of Michigan for the Class of 2023 (Rivals, ESPN, 247, On3) . . . member of the Rivals250 (No. 222) and ESPN300 (No. 170) as one of the best overall players in the country . . . rated the No. 13 overall player in the Midwest by ESPN.com . . . ranked among the best defensive ends in the nation by Rivals (No. 16), ESPN (No. 22), On3 (No. 38) and 247Sports (No. 38) . . . listed as one of the top overall players in Michigan by Rivals (No. 3), 247Sports (No. 4), ESPN (No. 4) and On3 (No. 6) . . . three-year varsity letterwinner at Detroit Cass Tech High School . . . helped lead Cass Tech to a 9-4 record, the Detroit Public School League (PSL) title and a berth in the Michigan Division 1 state semifinals his senior season in 2022 . . . first-team all-state selection by the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association (MHSFCA) and The Associated Press . . . named to the MHSFCA Dream Team, Detroit Free Press Dream Team, The Detroit News Dream Team and the MLive Metro Detroit Dream Team . . . named the winner of the State Champs Player of the Year Award for the state of Michigan . . . also named to The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press All-Detroit Team . . . finished the season with 53 tackles, including 15 tackles for loss and 12 sacks . . . had 30 tackles, including 12 TFLs and 10 sacks, as a junior in 2021 while earning MLive Metro Team Dream Team honorable mention . . . recorded eight sacks and two forced fumbles as a sophomore in 2020 as Cass Tech advanced to the Division 1 regional finals Owns a 3.74 grade-point average . . . played for Coach Marvin Rushing at Cass Tech High School . . . son of Kevin and Saquanda Thompson . . . advertising management major owns a 3.85 GPA.
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