Around once a week, Trevin Wallace receives a message from former teammate Shaq Thompson. Despite no longer playing together, Thompson continues to review Wallace’s game tape and offer advice.
“Me and him text,” Wallace said before the Panthers’ game against the Bills. “He texted me yesterday.
“What’s crazy is it’s stuff like that he sees on film that I can do better or things I’m doing good…he still gives me tips.”
Thompson, who mentored Wallace when he was drafted last season, signed with the Buffalo Bills after leaving Carolina in the offseason. The two will face each other as opponents for the first time this Sunday.
“We just always talk. I watch his games just to give him some pointers and stuff like that,” Thompson said this week. “That’s my little bro to me, so to make sure he’s always good..I had Luke (Kuechly). I had TD (Thomas Davis), older guys who had experience, super experienced, and he’s just one of the guys—I just want to make sure that he’s always good.
“I want him to thrive. I want him to get paid, and I want him to play well; I take pride in that because I was there with him and I know what type of potential that he could have for that team and for that organization and for himself.”
Wallace has seen an improvement in his performance recently, crediting much of it to Thompson’s ongoing support. This season, Wallace has made 32 tackles—two for loss—and defended three passes.
“A whole bunch,” Wallace responded when asked how much of Thompson’s advice has influenced his play this year. “Like a whole bunch. When he sees something, I go execute and do it, and I text him like, ‘Hey, you seen that?’ And he’s like, ‘That’s good, keep doing it.’ And certain things that he sees like, ‘Hey, you can work on this better or do this better.'”
Thompson also promised running back Chuba Hubbard he’d be targeting him if they ever faced off as opponents.
“When he was having the possibility of like maybe leaving here, he’d always say, ‘If I’m gone, I’m coming after you. I’m going to get number 30,'” Hubbard said recently.
“He’s just annoying as hell, but that’s my dog. It’ll be fun to go up against him finally. We used to always talk about it all the time, so it (will) definitely be cool.”
Hubbard planned some light-hearted trash talk ahead of Sunday’s game: “I was meaning to call. I’m going to call him today, throw some jabs,” Hubbard said. “I know he’ll have a few jabs for me. Like I said, he’s a ball player, one of the best I’ve been around, so if you go up against a guy like that, it’ll be fun.”
Sunday’s matchup will mark their first meeting on opposite sides since Thompson left Carolina but both players expect their friendship will continue beyond game day.
“I wonder what he’s going to say when Sunday comes around pregame,” Wallace reflected. “I wonder what he’s going to say, but I feel like it’s going to be all love.”
The weekly conversations between Thompson and Wallace are expected to continue regardless of Sunday’s outcome.
