University of Minnesota Athletics
Darrell Thompson - M Club Hall of Fame
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Darrell Thompson
Football, 1986-89
HOF Class of 1997
A three-sport star at John Marshall High School in Rochester, Darrell Thompson rewrote the football record books at the University of Minnesota.
Six-one and 220 pounds, with 4.4 speed and plenty of acceleration, he earned a reputation as an elusive but punishing running back. He became the first Big Ten running back to rush for more than 1,000 yards as a freshman and as a sophomore. In 1987, after scoring a 98-yard touchdown run, the longest from scrimmage in Big Ten history, he became the first player to gain more than 200 yards in a game against Michigan.
In his Gopher career, Thompson rushed for 4,654 yards on 936 attempts, and scored 40 touchdowns, making him Minnesota’s all-time leader in all three categories. His 262 total points placed him second. In addition to All-Big Ten honors in 1986 and Playboy All-America honors in 1988, he was named the Gophers’ MVP in each of the three years 1986-89.
As a pro he played five seasons with the Green Bay Packers, rushing for 1,641 yards and eight touchdowns before his 1995 retirement, after which he became a color analyst for the Gopher Radio Network and directed a Minneapolis-based early intervention youth mentoring program.