ALBANY, Ga. – Westover High School in Albany, Ga., isn’t on the way to much. If you’re at Westover, you’re there because you want to be there and college coaches around the country have wanted to be there a lot. They’ve come for Trent Thompson and on Monday, 247Sports was there for Thompson as well to present the 6-foot-3, 310-pounder as the 247Sports Composite National Player of the Year.

The 247Composite Rating is a proprietary algorithm that compiles prospect "rankings" and "ratings" listed in the public domain by the major media recruiting services. It converts average industry ranks and ratings into a linear composite index capping at 1.0000, which indicates a consensus No. 1 prospect across all services.

It’s an unbiased media consensus ranking but it just so happens that 247Sports agrees with the industry as Thompson was recently named the 247Sports No. 1 player in the country as well.

“It feels good to finish as the top player in the country cause I know all my hard work pays off from the summer time, practice time and season time,” Thompson said after being presented the award.

It was a dominating performance at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl that cemented Thompson’s spot atop the 247Sports rankings and later the industry’s 247Sports Composite. The Georgia commit was motivated to earn that top spot throughout the week of practice in San Antonio and came to the event with business on his mind.

“I wanted to earn it back,” said Thompson who had been ranked No. 1 before back in the spring of 2014. “I knew I was supposed to be the No. 1 player anyways. I’ve got to keep working hard because this is just the start. When I get to college I’ve got to finish and then hopefully I can make it to the league and keep going after that."

As a senior, Thompson had 84 tackles, 36 tackles for loss, four sacks and one interception. It was a dominating season that Westover head coach Octavia Jones has come to expect out of Thompson. But to Jones, it’s what Thompson does off the field that makes him special.

“He’s a very special guy,” Jones said. “I tell everybody all the time that I think he’s No. 1, not so much for what he does on the field but what he does off the field. He’s brought a lot of exposure and attention to this part of the state and to Westover football. He’s done it the right way. He’s taken care of his business in the classroom. He hasn’t had any disciplinary issues since he’s been here. The whole school loves him, faculty, staff, the entire student body. His attitude is infectious and everybody loves to be around him.”

Affectionately referred to around the Westover campus as “Big Cat”, Thompson is one of ten brothers and sisters but he joins another brotherhood with his acceptance of the 247Sports Composite National Player of the Year award.

Thompson joins 2014 freshman All-American RB Leonard Fournette, 2014 All-American DT Robert Nkemdiche, 2014 No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Jadeveon Clowney, former NFL Rookie of the Year Vince Young and one of the all-time great NFL running backs Adrian Peterson.

Thompson receives 247Sports Composite National POY Award GALLERY

Though the shoes to fill are big for Thompson, his attitude, physical gifts and body of work give us every indication that he will be making the recruiting industry look good for years to come.