From SCSU Athletic Communications and BaltimoreRavens.com | Photo from NFL.com

South Carolina State All-MEAC safety Christian Thompson has been selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 2012 National Football League draft.

The Ravens selected Thompson with the 130th pick overall. He was the only HBCU product to be selected in seven rounds of the NFL Draft.Thompson

"We are extremely excited," Ravens Defensive Coordinator Dean Pees said Saturday. "We had him very high on our board on defense and are really kind of shocked that he was still there in the fourth round. To get a guy that we had ranked as high as we had him ranked, I wanted to hug [General Manager] Ozzie [Newsome]. That was a great pick."

Thompson will likely serve as a backup behind Ed Reed and strong safety Bernard Pollard. He played both free and strong safety in college, finishing the year with 66 tackles, two interceptions, a fumble recovery and two pass deflections.
     
Thompson is the first SCSU Bulldog selected as high in the NFL draft since 1997 when the San Diego Chargers chose Raleigh Roundtree with the 109th pick overall in the fourth round. The 6-1, 211 pound Florida native was pegged by many pre-NFL draft websites as one of the top 10 safeties in the country.

Thompson saw action in 34 games during his three-year career for the Bulldogs. The 2011 first-team All-MEAC selection was the only SCSU player invited to the NFL combine since Arther Love in 1999.  Love was picked by the New England Patriots.

As a junior, Thompson played strong safety with a career-high 6 sacks while recording 46 tackles (one for loss) as a starter.

In 2009, he was one of the top reserves in the SC State secondary after transferring from Auburn.  He played in eleven of the team's twelve contests and finished ninth on the squad in total tackles with 29, including six for losses and one sack.

As a true freshman in 2008, he played 10 games on special teams for Auburn, making one solo tackle.

In the 2012 combine he finished as the # 6 Free Safety in the draft out of 71 running a 4.5 in the 40-yard dash.