FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (July 9, 2021) – When Northern Arizona defensive line coach
Everrette Thompson was playing at Washington from 2008 to 2011, his future boss was standing on the rival side of the Apple Cup.
NAU head coach
Chris Ball's third stint with the Washington State Cougars spanned the same time as Thompson's career, 2008 to 2011, before he moved south to Arizona State. The two crossed paths again in 2018 when Ball took over in Flagstaff where Thompson had spent the season as a graduate assistant with the Lumberjacks.
The experience with the position group, in Thompson's eyes, proved to be crucial as a new coaching staff took over.
"I think it was vital. The coaches that came in, Coach Ball, Coach (Partridge), all those guys came to the GA, which was me at the time," Thompson said. "Those guys already knew what I was about and then obviously it helps to have my background and my experience."
Thompson's path to NAU is one that proves hard work and commitment pays off. After wrapping up at Washington and spending a few years on and off the Arizona Cardinals roster, Thompson said he was in the middle of figuring out the next step in his career.
Knowing he wanted to stick close to football and help younger players, Thompson came to realize Dan Cozzetto was the head coach of Phoenix College. The offensive line coach for the Huskies while Thompson played at Washington, Cozzetto returned to the Valley where he had spent time with Arizona State in the 1990s. Along with him at Phoenix College was another member of the ASU coaching staff from the 90s,
Robin Pflugrad.
"It was special, I was very fortunate just with the sequence of things," Thompson said. "They gave me the opportunity to volunteer, and I coached there for about three years. It was like a build-a-coach. They started me off as a D-line coach and then went to special teams coordinator, worked with the secondary and linebackers. They just kind of encompassed everything."
When Pflugrad moved up to NAU for the 2018 season, Thompson eventually followed as a graduate assistant. Temporarily left in limbo as Ball took over the program ahead of the 2019 season, Thompson's time volunteering with Pflugrad in the Valley proved impressive to NAU's new head coach.
"The guy worked for free. Showed up every day working for free," Ball said he learned from Pflugrad. "He's young, enthusiastic and he's a great mentor for those kids. But when I heard that he worked for free, showed up every day on time and worked hard... You're not going to find a better person than
Everrette Thompson. He was exactly what I was looking for. Anytime you can hire somebody that's got the qualities he has, you need to hire them. The football part of it, he's good, but his best quality is him as a person."
With Thompson originally from Kennedy High School, just a few miles south of Seattle, the former Husky said many people he knew from home had become familiar with Ball during his time at Washington State.
Encouraged by the reputation, and the coaching staff being built at NAU, Thompson said it's been a tremendous learning process under Ball, Partridge and the rest of the staff.
"I keep telling all the kids that we bring in here and talk to face-to-face that you're getting Power Five coaching. The knowledge, the experiences, the Rose Bowls, the championships they played in, you're getting everything here," Thompson said. "You want to play at the highest level? These guys have done it. They've been there. They know what it takes at those stages so they're gonna get that here."
