This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Kendal Thompson has never wilted in the face of adversity. The two have had their fair share of run-ins during his 24 years. But the Washington rookie roster hopeful doesn't have it in his DNA to back down.

The blood of Native American chiefs and warriors courses through the 6-foot-2, 192-pound wide receiver's veins. The lessons passed down from those leaders of Oklahoma's Kiowa tribe have stuck with Thompson throughout his life .

Thompson found himself on the football path at an early age. His father, Charles Thompson, starred for the Oklahoma Sooners in the late 1980s, and Thompson's grandfather on his mother's side — the late Norman Kaubin — also played college football and coached youth and in high school.

Kaubin died in 2003, and the then-11-year-old Thompson took that loss hard. But he carried the memories of his lessons, of life and football, with him as he developed into a star quarterback at Southmoore High School in Moore, Oklahoma.

Thompson then followed in his father's footsteps and committed to play for Oklahoma and was among the Sooners' potential replacements for Landry Jones.

Thompson experienced his first brush with football adversity entering his sophomore year at Oklahoma.

"First practice, no pads, broke my foot," Thompson recalls. "That was probably my lowest point. I felt like I was good enough to be the starter. That opportunity was gone before I even got to the season."

Thompson eventually came back from the foot injury, but played only two games in 2013. Thompson graduated with a degree in communications, but had eligibility remaining, and so, with a starter entrenched at Oklahoma, he decided to "go somewhere for a fresh start." Utah's football coaches recruited Thompson in 2014 with then-starter Travis Wilson's future in doubt because of complications with an artery in his brain. Thompson transferred, but by the start of the season, Wilson had recovered.

The two split time, but just as Thompson began to excel, misfortune struck again. After leading Utah to a touchdown to open the Week 7 game against Oregon, Thompson tore his anterior cruciate ligament on the second possession and was lost for the season.

Thompson returned to Utah to prepare for his final season there, but played only sparingly at quarterback that year as his reconstructed knee didn't yet return to full strength until late in the year.

For his entire college career, Thompson had played in 13 games, completing 64 of 101 passes for 608 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions. He went undrafted, but in mid-July, he got the call from Washington for a tryout, and earned a spot on the 90-man roster.

Thompson has done well thus far, making steady progress in his transition to wide receiver.

Thompson had his brightest moment with Washington in the second preseason game, when he made a one-handed grab for the game-winning touchdown, and on the very next play caught Nate Sudfeld's two-point conversion pass in the 22-18 win over the Jets.

Thompson's teammates erupted right along with the fans at FedEx Field, and many mobbed him as he made his way back to the sideline. But Thompson says, "Those are plays that I expect to make. That's what I prepare for."