Christian Thompson had a memorable dinner earlier this year.

He was joined by Ravens’ All-Pro safety Ed Reed, who met with the South Carolina State prospect to talk about football and making the transition to the NFL.

“I just took away everything that he told me and what he was speaking on, as far as football and life as an NFL player,” Thompson said. “It was some valuable things said that always stick with you.”

That Italian dinner in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., won’t be the last meal for them, as the Ravens selected Thompson in the fourth round (130th-overall pick) of this year’s draft.

He will now join a secondary led by Reed, and couldn’t be happier about the destination.

“I’m just looking forward to trying to soak everything up,” Thompson said. “I want to be like a little sponge.”

“I was just super excited when I got the call. I felt like a little kid. It’s something that you always talk about when you are younger.”

Reed has already seen his new teammate receptive to his message.

“He’s like a sponge, he just wants information,” Reed said during a recent radio interview on 105.7 The Fan. “How can he get better? How can he better himself and what is this business that [he’s] coming into? I feel like Christian is already on a good start with meeting with financial advisors, with wanting to know the information from myself and whoever else he can get it from on what things to do and what not to do going forward”

Thompson will help provide some depth at the safety position behind Reed and Bernard Pollard. The Ravens lost veteran safeties Haruki Nakamura and Tom Zbikowski to free agency this offseason, creating a need in the secondary. 

Before getting playing time on defense, Thompson will mostly likely be asked to play special teams, which he did throughout his college career.

“I want to play on special teams because that’s going to be my way on the field,” Thompson said. “I’m just going to start off with that.”

Thompson comes to the Ravens after spending three seasons at South Carolina State and one at Auburn. He left Auburn after his freshman season, which coincided with the arrival of Head Coach Gene Chizik and a new coaching staff.

“It was basically coaching changes and I didn’t feel comfortable with the new coaching staff that came in after,” Thompson said about his decision to leave Auburn. “The coaching staff that recruited me left after my freshmen football season. The new coaching staff came in and I played through spring and I just didn’t really have the right vibe from them so I decided to go.”

When he was first deciding where to transfer, Thompson admitted that he had never heard of South Carolina State, an FCS school.

But he was put in touch with their head coach and defensive coordinator, who sent along some game tape of the team’s defense.
After watching the film, Thompson decided to attend the smaller school.

“The defense was the highlight of that whole team,” Thompson said. “The defense was making the biggest plays all over the field and it just got me excited.”

Thompson brings that mentality to the Ravens, as he’s developed a reputation as an explosive player.

His size (6-foot-0, 211 pounds) and speed made him an attractive prospect, and at the NFL scouting combine he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.46 seconds, faster than any other safety.

 “I have a little bit of both sides as an aggressive player, as far as going for the big plays, but I’m also patient enough to wait for the big play to come to me,” Thompson said.

As Thompson comes to Baltimore to start his rookie campaign, he’s hoping to earn a contributing role alongside Reed on the Ravens defense.

He’s also looking to take away a few more lessons from his new teammate, who has already left a memorable impact on him.

“The main thing that he said was to always work hard and make sure that you stay on top of your game,” Thompson said. “Even though I know him as Ed Reed the football player, he just had a demeanor that he’s a good, humble guy.

“He knows his talent, but he doesn’t try to showcase who he is. That makes me want to take some of the traits that he has and try to carry them on with me.”