Legend enjoying role as coach

Taking on defenders with relentless courage, there wasn't a more determined and hard-working running back than Anthony Thompson. Thompson's IU career was essentially four yards and a cloud of trust. \nNot flashy, he was just a back that was always dependable, always reliable and would constantly encourage his line to keep it up after a good gain. The same traits that made him a two-time All-American is causing Thompson to emerge as a young coach on the rise in the college ranks. \nNow in his fifth year as running backs coach for his alma mater, Anthony Thompson will also head into the fall as assistant head coach -- a position in which he was an interim last year in case Cam Cameron missed a game to be with his expecting wife. Impressed by his all-around coaching efforts with recruiting, development of his backs and his integrity, the decision to keep Thompson full-time was an easy one for Cameron. \n"You have to have an assistant head coach that you can trust, and there's not a guy that I trust more than Anthony Thompson," Cameron said. "Anthony and I are on the phone almost every day throughout the summer, throughout our vacation, always talking about our football team getting things done."\nAs running backs coach, Thompson was credited by De'Wayne Hogan for improving his "mental toughness" that enabled a once-reserve running back to emerge as one of the best fullbacks in the Big Ten last season.\nThompson's tailbacks will be faced with the challenge of carrying more of the rushing load this season with Antwaan Randle El expected to spend most of his time at wide receiver. It's a challenge Thompson loves to issue. \n"You always gotta come up to try to get into their psyche and try to help them become better football players," Thompson said. "I say 'as a tailback if you want to be successful at this level and at the next level you better be able to run in between the tackles,'" Thompson said. "And so with that they understand where I'm coming from." \n"I tell them 'hey, Antwaan in option football, you know he does most of the work anyway. He pitches the ball to you and you run 10 yards for a first down without even being touched.' I say 'now, we're gonna hand the ball off to you and see what you can do.' I try to challenge those guys like that. And they like that challenge."\nRemaining extremely close with his running backs coach at IU, Buck Suhr, Thompson desires that same tight bond with his players. \n"I spend more time with them during the fall then I do with my own kids. So we gotta know each other, we gotta trust each other. And I tell all my guys, 'I love you guys. It's nothing personal, but the best guys are going to play. I want them to feel that they can trust me."\nNow 34, the deeply religious Thompson aims to be a role model to his backs and prepare them to be successful off the field as well as on it. \n"I like for them to fall on me like I fall on Christ," Thompson said. "Because I'm going to try to do the right thing every single time. Now I may not always do it, but my heart is in the right place." \n"I hope they see that and they can trust me and be able to tell me anything. Now I may not like it, but they can tell me anything." \nWith his solid work in developing his backs (rushing production from the running backs in Big Ten games improved each of the last three years from 769 yards in '98, 961 in '99 and 1,153 in '00) and his recruiting ability and character, Cameron thinks Thompson contains all the necessary ingredients of a future head coach.\n"I think Anthony's potential as a coach is unlimited," Cameron said. "He's like most good young coaches. All they need is time. At some point in time if Anthony chooses to be a head coach, it'll happen for him." \nThompson, like during his playing days, will just go about his business with hard work and let his coaching future take care of itself. \n"Let me just say, if that's what the lord wills for me to do (become a head coach) then yes I will do that, but if that's not in his perfect will then I won't do that," he said. "But yes it would he nice to be a head coach some day"