Tyler Beckham Thigpen (born April 14, 1984) is a former American football quarterback. Thigpen was drafted out of Coastal Carolina University in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft (217th overall) by the Minnesota Vikings.
He was the first quarterback to play for the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football team. He led the Chanticleers program to a 30–8 record as their starting quarterback. Thigpen holds the single-season and career passing records in most major statistical categories at Coastal Carolina.
He saw his most extensive action as a starting quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2008. Thigpen recorded 22 touchdowns (18 passing, 3 rushing, and 1 receiving) against 12 interceptions in 11 starts, though the Chiefs were 1–10 in that span.
Early years
Thigpen was born in Winnsboro, South Carolina, and he attended Fairfield Central High School, where he played on the football team. He became an All-South Carolina selection as a senior running back. In addition to running back, Thigpen played wide receiver and punter in high school.
He grew up playing football in the Newberry County Youth Sports.
College career
In February 2002, Thigpen elected to go to Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina, and majored in sports management.
Thigpen was the first quarterback in Coastal Carolina history, and wore the jersey #16. The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football program began in 2003. The team competes in the Big South Conference of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision.
Thigpen and the rest of the Chanticleers' first recruiting class redshirted their freshman year in 2002. In 2003, he started nine of ten games for the team and was third on the team's roster in rushing. After the Chanticleers' inaugural season in which the team finished with a 6–5 record, Thigpen led the team to a 10–1 record in 2004. In 2004, Thigpen started the opening 8 games before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury against Gardner–Webb. In 2005, Thigpen started all 11 games for the Chanticleers and earned the Big South Conference Offensive Player of the Week Award after rushing for 111 yards and three touchdowns and throwing for 157 yards in a victory over the Virginia Military Institute.
In 2006, Thigpen became the first Chanticleer to be chosen a consensus All-American. He registered a career-high 119 rushing yards at Gardner–Webb, including a 76-yard bootleg. He was named Big South Conference Player of the Year in 2006, when he completed 217-of-339 passes for 3,296 yards and 29 touchdowns, and carried 113 times for 656 yards and five touchdowns. Thigpen had a 30–8 record in four seasons (41 games and 39 starts). From 2003 to 2006, the Chanticleers had a 34–11 record in Thigpen's four seasons with the team, winning three Big South Conference championships.
Thigpen played alongside wide receiver Jerome Simpson and running back Mike Tolbert, who both, like Thigpen, later played in the NFL, to help lead the young Chanticleers program to major victories against No. 1 James Madison in 2005, and No. 3 Furman in 2006. He led the Chanticleers to the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs and a Big South Conference championship. Thigpen holds the single-season and career passing records in every major statistical category at Coastal Carolina.
Statistics
Professional career
Thigpen was not invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, but impressed NFL scouts at his pro day (held on March 8, 2007, on the campus of Coastal Carolina) and attended a workout at Clemson University to help raise his draft stock.
Minnesota Vikings
Thigpen was selected in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft with the 217th overall pick by the Minnesota Vikings, becoming the first player in Coastal Carolina and Big South Conference history to be drafted in the NFL.
In the 2007 preseason, the Vikings hosted the St. Louis Rams, losing the game by a score of 13–10. Kansas City Chiefs scout and vice president of player personnel Bill Kuharich attended the game at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Thigpen played in the fourth quarter and in two possessions with the Vikings offense and completed 3-of-6 passes for 29 yards and picked up 18 yards on two scrambles. Kuharich filed a scouting report following the game and told the rest of the Chiefs personnel to keep an eye on Thigpen if he were to be released after the preseason.