Leroy Thompson joined the Wesley College coaching staff in August 2010 after an impressive career in the Arena Football League.  He will work primarily with the defensive line.

Thompson played collegiately at Delaware State for former Hornet head coach Bill Collick. He earned Kodak First Team All-America honors as a senior in 1992, when he paced the team with 89 tackles and 11 sacks. The previous year, he set school records with five sacks in a game against North Carolina A&T and 16 in one season. A two-time All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference selection, his 30 career quarterback sacks rate third all-time for the Hornets.

Thompson, who will work with Wesley’s defensive line, comes to Wesley after spending one year on the coaching staff at Lincoln University (Pa.) through the National Football League Players Association/NCAA Internship Program. While there, he helped the second year program win two more games than the previous season, working with a defensive unit that shaved nearly two touchdowns per game off of its points allowed.

After his career at Delaware State, Thompson went on to play in both the National Football League and the Canadian Football League before a productive 13-year stint in the Arena Football League as a linebacker, fullback, and defensive end. When he retired, he ranked in the top five in nearly every rushing category in AFL history and became just the sixth player in league history to rush for over 1,000 career yards in 2006. Thompson also won the 2002 AFL Built Ford Tough Man of the Year and won an Arena Bowl Championship in 1999 with Albany.

"Coach Thompson brings great experience having played professionally and coaching on the college level last season," Drass noted.  "His experience will be a big plus working with our defensive line this year as we undertake the difficult task of replacing Tom Smith, who did an outstanding job for us over the years."