LOGAN, Utah – Utah State senior wide receiver Deven Thompkins has lived in the fast lane his entire life.
 
The native of Fort Myers, Florida, admitted he had to grow up fast and life certainly hasn't slowed down for the 5-foot-8, 155-pound electrifying receiver. Not only is he balancing football and education, but he is also the proud father of two, a 3-year-old daughter named Nyomi, and a 2-year-old son named Messiah.
 
Despite all the responsibilities he has, the 21-year-old Thompkins continues to shine in all facets of his life, including on the gridiron this season for the Aggies.
 
Announced as one of 10 semifinalists for the prestigious Biletnikoff Award earlier this week, Thompkins leads the nation in receiving (144.1 ypg) and all-purpose yards (169.9 ypg), is second in the MW and eighth in the nation in receptions (7.7 pg), second in the MW and 20th in the nation in yards per reception (18.7), and third in the MW and 16th in the nation in receiving touchdowns with eight (0.80 pg).
 
We caught up with Thompkins to discuss how much fun he is having this season, his desire to be the nation's leading receiver and his biggest pet peeve.
 
USU: What does it mean to you to eclipse the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the season?
 
Thompkins: It means everything, honestly, because this is really the first time being a part of history in a way like this. It's definitely an honor.
 
USU: Did you think this would even be possible after everything that happened last year, like entering the transfer portal, then coming back?
 
Thompkins: The decision to enter the portal was for me, based off of everything that had happened with coach (Gary) Andersen and Jason Shelley getting kicked off the team, and then also with the splitting up with me and my wife. I wanted a fresh start more than anything, but it never felt right to enter the portal in the first place. Utah State was just home for me and out of 129 Division I schools, they were the only school that actually gave me an offer.
 
USU: Did you have any offers from other schools after entering the transfer portal?
 
Thompkins: The only official offer I had when I entered the portal was Western Kentucky. I was talking to a couple of schools like the University of Kentucky, because coach (Jovon) Bouknight is now there, Louisville and Florida State. All those schools, though, they weren't really pulling the trigger with offering me. The process started taking a little too long for me, so I didn't really want to stay in the portal too much longer.
 
USU: What was it that brought you back to Utah State?
 
Thompkins: Really, (head) coach (Blake) Anderson and (wide receivers) coach (Kyle) Cefalo. The first conversation I had with them was them telling me how they wanted to change, and the new culture they wanted to bring to Utah State. The biggest thing that caught my attention was the diversity within the coaching staff, and having coaches that could understand us better in a way. Coach Anderson kept his word, and the same with coach Cefalo. Looking at coach Cefalo's resume when it comes to him as a coach, he has coached the best receiver the past three years in a row, and I'm just another of those receivers that is a part of that. It has just been amazing.
 
USU: How much fun has the season been for you and the team?
 
Thompkins: This team is definitely closer than any of the other teams I have been a part of, and it all really started with the coaching staff. In the spring, we used to have team competitions and those things really brought us together as an entire team. That made us really respect the coaches more, to see them kind of act how we act, like little kids in a way. We can be ourselves around them and we don't have to come in wearing a business suit and tie-like manner. Everything is loose and relaxed, so coach Anderson lets us be ourselves and lets our personality show each and every day.
 
USU: When did you make it a goal to play college football?
 
Thompkins: When I got to my junior year in high school. Growing up, I really didn't know too much about college football. I used to not really take it seriously, because football was football, and it was just for fun at the time. But, once I got to my junior year in high school and I started seeing some of my friends getting offers and all the older boys going to college, I was like, 'Dang, you can really go to the college for this.' In my junior year, I got my first letter from Purdue, and when I got that, I was like, 'Dang, I'm really getting recruited a little bit.' That's when I really wanted to start taking things more seriously in the classroom, and actually wanting to get out of my city and being able to play football and continue my football career.
 
USU: How do you balance being a student, a father and a football player?
 
Thompkins: It comes from being able to have mindfulness, and understanding the different aspects of what it is. When it comes to being a father, my kids always come first and I know I am a father first before I am anything else, whether that be a football player or student. I make that a priority before anything else, and then when it comes to school and football, you are a student-athlete, so you take care of your grades and schooling first. Football is always going to handle itself at the end of the day. The biggest thing I have learned is not multitask, but incorporating and putting things together, like school and family. Since my classes are online, I am able to sit at home and do my classes while I am taking care of my son at the same time. That is something I have developed over time. 
 
USU: Being only 21 yourself, it seems like you have had to grow up in a hurry with everything on your plate. 
 
Thompkins: My whole life, I had to grow up fast, due to the situation I was given when I was growing up and things like that. My mom and dad were great parents, but they ended up separating when I was 7 years old. It made life a little more difficult, but that honestly taught me how to grow up really quick, not really having my father in the house too much. He was always there, he just wasn't living with me and my mom. My mom would work all day, then come home and be exhausted, so I understood that I had to be a man at an early age. I had an older brother; I am the second-oldest in my family. My brother is a great older brother, but I was more of the one willing to go out and make things happen. I was more so the man of the house at that time growing up, so it was something that I learned from my father before he split up with my mom. My father didn't fail me, what it means to be a man. Sometimes, not everybody can really understand a man and his decisions for what he does, but my dad taught me that. The situations that I grew up with helped me mature at a very early age.
 
USU: What goals do you have both personally and for the team for the rest of the season?
 
Thompkins: Personally, it would definitely be a blessing to become a record holder here at Utah State for receiving yards. That is something I really want to achieve, and I do want to win the Biletnikoff Award and the Paul Hornung Award. Those are my three main goals this year. As a team, we want to go get that championship. Right now we are sitting in the driver's seat of everything, so the goal is right in front of us and as long as we just keep our head down and grind every day like we do, we will be able to get it for sure.
 
USU: How would you survive a zombie apocalypse?
 
Thompkins: Depending on how the world is at that time, I'd load up on some ammunition, load up on guns, and get me a yacht. I'd go to the grocery store before I got in the yacht, and make sure I fill up everything I need, and then set out for my life on the water until my resources run out and I have to go back on land to get some more stuff.
 
USU: If you could time travel, where and when would you go?
 
Thompkins: I'd go back to ancient Egypt, when it was one of the most powerful civilizations in history.
 
USU: What is your pet peeve?
 
Thompkins: If somebody sneezes and I bless them, or I hold the door for them, and they don't say, 'thank you,' or something like that, that gets on my nerves a little bit. I'm trying to do something nice for somebody, and then they don't appreciate it, it kind of makes me a little furious.
 
USU: When you are having a bad day, what helps make yourself feel better?
 
Thompkins: I meditate. Whenever I am having a bad day or if something bad happens to me, I'll sit in my room, turn my phone off and put some meditation music on. I'll sit there, probably for 15-30 minutes, and evaluate the situation, evaluate my emotions and try to understand why this happened or how could I help the situation, whatever the case may be.  
 
USU: If animals could talk, which would be the rudest?
 
Thompkins: I'd probably say a hippo or a rhino.
 
USU: If you could scale any animal to the size of a horse
 
Thompkins: A jaguar.
 
USU: Does pineapple belong on pizza?
 
Thompkins: No. Not at all.
 
USU: Is a hot dog a sandwich?
 
Thompkins: Yeah, because it's meat between two buns.
 
USU: Do cats have regrets?
 
Thompkins: No, because they made their decisions and they are going to ride out with them. Cats are going to hold onto whatever they do.
 
USU: If you could trade places with someone for a day, who would it be and why?
 
Thompkins: Mike Holston, the realtarzann on Instagram. He's an environmentalist in a way and an activist for animals. He travels to different countries and works a lot with animals. He also goes to different tribes that are actually still alive in the wild, and he'll live with them and learn their way of life and things of that nature. That is actually something I want to do after my football career is over.
 
USU: What is your greatest accomplishment?
 
Thompkins: Being the father I am now.
 
For Aggie football ticket information, fans can contact the USU Athletics Ticket Office over the phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or 435-797-0305 during regular hours of operation. Fans can also buy their tickets in person at the USU Ticket Office inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum or online by clicking on the "Buy Tickets" tab at www.UtahStateAggies.com.
 
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-USU-