Edinboro University Athletics

Gerald Thompson ('99) rates as the greatest running back ever at Edinboro. A workhorse who played from 1995-98, he gained 1,000 yards in a season twice and concluded his career with a school-record 4,410 yards. He also holds the career record for rushing attempts with 943 and ranks third in career touchdowns rushing with 38. He capped his career with a brilliant season campaign in which he gained 1,698 yards, the second-highest total in school history, while carrying the ball a school-record 343 times with 13 TDs. He had three games with 200-or-more yards, including a school-record 316 yards against California(Pa.). He added 237 yards vs. Bloomsburg, the sixth-highest single-game total, while carrying the ball a school-record 42 times. In fact, he holds four of the top five single-game figures for rushing attempts, and five of the top ten. Thompson was named a Football Gazette honorable mention All-American in 1998 and was also accorded first team All-PSAC West honors. All told, he was a three-time All-PSAC honoree, earning first team honors in 1995 and ’98 and second team in 1996. He burst onto the scene as a freshman in 1995, finishing with 1,281 yards on 228 carries with 10 TDs. Edinboro would finish 9-2 that year and win the PSAC West title. He gained 618 yards on 178 rushes with 7 TDs as a sophomore, and ended with 813 yards on 194 carries with 8 TDs in 1997. Thompson also finished his career with 34 receptions for 243 yards and a touchdown. He was named the 1999 Sox Harrison Award winner and played in the 1999 Snow Bowl, the Division II all-star game.