The first time Tyler Thompson attended a football game at Bakersfield College’s Memorial Stadium was in 2000. He was there to watch a linebacker from his hometown of Shafter, Ryan Kroeker, play for the Renegades. Thompson and his mother, who had grown up and was friends with Kroeker’s mom, were there among the big Saturday crowd.
“He had a neck collar on. It was old school ball, just a completely different way they played the game, even in those days,” Thompson said. “He was just running through the A gap every play, giving people concussions. There were a lot of people there. The lower decks were almost full and some people in the upper decks. If the lower decks are full, that’s about 9,000 or 10,000.”
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A few years later, as a Shafter High football player, Thompson was invited to a 2007 BC football game by head coach Jeff Chudy.
“That was the year they were No. 1 in the nation and they had guys like Attrail Snipes and Brandon Banks,” he said. “I remember watching Brandon Banks take a driver route 70 yards. He caught the ball three yards past the line of scrimmage and he outran everybody.”
A few years later, he was suited in the red and white uniform himself, playing safety for two seasons under Chudy, who converted him from a receiver to the defensive side of the ball upon his arrival. The change in positions went hand-in-hand in how different community college football was from high school for him and other newcomers.
“My first memory as a player was shock,” he said. “There were a lot of really good players here. A lot of local kids’ perception is that they think this level isn’t as competitive as it is. They get here and ‘oh, man’ there’s a lot of really good football players here, a lot of Kern County kids.”
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Having Chudy as head coach and the culture he was part of made for a great BC experience.
“A lot of really good guys, and naturally the way everyone is cut from the same cloth being from this area creates a very quick camaraderie buy-in within the team. There’s not a lot of egos, people are on the same page, working toward the same thing and an understanding that they worked hard to get better and that resonates with everyone,” he said.
After a few seasons playing at the University of Nevada, Reno, Thompson really wanted to return to Bakersfield. He spoke to Chudy, who brought him in as an assistant coach in 2014 to work with the defensive secondary.
He moved up to defensive coordinator in 2019. When Bakersfield College head coach R. Todd Littlejohn was not brought back after a second straight 6-5 season and an 18-24 overall record since 2020 — COVID-19 erased his first year, thus he coached four seasons — Thompson applied for the head coaching job and was, in essence, promoted to the top spot.
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In late January he was hired — it’s his first head coaching job — and was introduced as Bakersfield College’s 12th head football coach since 1922, joining names such as Gerry Collis, Carl Bowser, Homer Beatty, Ray Newman and Jack Frost. It was the latest fond memory to add to Thompson’s BC fandom.
“Thanks for giving me this opportunity,” Thompson said at his introductory press conference. “For those of you who know me, you know I love everything about this place. Our players, coaches and community and everybody involved. It’s not just what’s here on campus, but everybody around it. I’m super excited to get to work and get this thing moving in the right direction.”
The direction he and his coaching staff and players want to go begins on Saturday. The Renegades will open the 2025 season with a 6 p.m. road game against Santa Ana College, a team BC hasn’t faced since opening the 2013 season with a 24-9 road win in Orange County.
“The first quarter is going to be wild,” he said. “We’re young and the players will be overstimulated. You can play hard, but if you’re going 100 miles an hour and go in the wrong direction, that’s not good. They will need one or two series to calm down and I will need one or two series to calm down. It’ll be crucial on both sides.”
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Offensive coordinator Seth Damron, who played at BC prior to Thompson’s arrival but has faced him plenty as an opposing coach when Damron was head coach at Hancock, will be alongside Thompson and they’ll work together to figure it out.
“It’ll be nerve-wracking for a few series as we try to get a bead on what Santa Ana’s defense is doing, but we’ll see if we’re up to the challenge,” Damron said.
Maybe that’s a good thing. There’s a lot that’s new about the 2025 season. New head coach, new conference division, the Southern California Football Association’s National Central League with Canyons, Cerritos, East L.A., Pasadena, Fullerton, Golden West and Orange Coast.
The Renegades will face everyone as well as these Dons, Ventura and Allan Hancock, which is BC’s home opener on Saturday, Sept. 6 at a new regular home start time of 4 p.m.
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“I think it’s good to refresh the conferences schedule,” he said. “We’ll be challenged.”
Some of these new opponents are actually older rivals from past years, including Fullerton (see 1988 Potato Bowl), and Thompson said he’s glad to have Cerritos back on the schedule, which for the Renegades, their fans and alumni, will be Oct. 11 and serves as the 2025 Homecoming game.
Talking about games here and those in the near future means Thompson and his staff are eager to see what comes from the work already put in, such as when the Renegades scrimmaged with Coalinga and Reedley two weeks ago, and as the season goes.
Thompson said current injuries to players, including some with more experience, will necessitate more freshmen getting playing time Saturday. Mistakes are expected, both by players and the coaches.
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“The first year, I think you learn what not to do,” he said. “A lot of mistakes will be made on my end. I expect that. If you don’t learn from them, though, that’s the ultimate mistake. You try to make corrections and that’s what I envision this year. Unfortunately, now the wins and losses are under your name and you don’t want that to be the cost, but there are going to be some errors.”
