Former MLB outfielder Bubba Thompson is trying his hand at a different sport. According to AL.com, Thompson has joined the South Alabama football team as a walk-on.
In a video Thompson posted on his social media accounts, he can be seen throwing a football inside South Alabama's practice facility. South Alabama coach Major Applewhite confirmed to AL.com that Thompson will be joining the team for spring practices and will walk on as a quarterback.
Thompson does have experience under center as he was an all-state quarterback at McGill-Toolen Catholic School in Mobile, Ala. back in 2016. However, the 26-year-old has spent the last eight years playing professional baseball, and was a first-round pick of the Texas Rangers in 2017.
Despite being nearly 27 years old, Thompson has five years of eligibility remaining at the collegiate level since he never attended college. A similar situation is unfolded at Arkansas, where former MLB player Monte Harrison is joined the Razorbacks football team as a walk-on wide receiver for the 2024 season.
Harrison ended up catching two passes for 29 yards this past season.
Thompson was actually a three-star football recruit in high school and even had scholarship offers to play football at Ole Miss and Tennessee. He threw for 3,173 yards and 38 touchdowns, while leading the Yellow Jackets to a Class 7A state championship game as a senior in 2016.
Thompson ended up committing to both Auburn and Alabama to play baseball during his high school days, but never attended college. The outfielder reached the major-league level in 2022 and appeared in 22 games that season in which he posted a .265 batting average to go along with a home run and nine RBIs.
The Alabama native also played for the Cincinnati Reds during the 2024 season, and appeared in just 17 games in the majors. In 109 career MLB games between the Rangers and Reds, Thompson had a .232 batting average, a home run, 13 RBI and 27 stolen bases. He also hit .263 with 52 home runs, 226 RBI and 135 stolen bases in 486 minor-league games over his career.
