Athletes have a notoriously tough time walking away from a sport — even when they're no longer good at it. Sometimes, they weren't all that good to begin with.

Take Russell Wilson, for example.

As of last summer, the Seahawks' quarterback was still floating the idea that he could play professional baseball. Sure, Wilson was a fourth-round pick of the Rockies in 2010, but during his two summers in Class A, he hit just .229 with 26 RBIs in 315 at-bats.

To be fair, those numbers are Hall of Fame worthy compared to Shaq Thompson, which may help explain why the Panthers' linebacker has had such an easy time getting over his days on the diamond.

"There's not a bone in my body that misses it," Thompson said Monday as he stood near the dugout steps at BB&T Ballpark.

One of eight celebrity captains invited to the Triple-A Baseball Home Run Derby by the Charlotte Knights — a list that also included former Panthers' receiver Steve Smith — Thompson can now laugh at what were embarrassing memories of his former sport.

When asked when he last swung a bat, he replied:

"Since my last baseball hit. Which was never."

That's funny. And mostly true.

In the summer of 2012, Thompson somehow found himself with the Gulf Coast affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. A few months earlier, a local scout stumbled on him while searching for athletes. The problem was — Thompson hadn't played baseball since sixth grade. But when the Red Sox call, you listen. So he joined his high school varsity team before Boston took him in the 18th round of the 2012 draft.

The experiment failed — to put it kindly. In 39 official at-bats, Thompson struck out 37 times and finished with a .000 batting average. But it's not like his first summer of pro football was much better.

Eight days after the Panthers used last year's 25th overall pick on Thompson, he tweaked a hamstring in the opening session of a two-day rookie minicamp. He then had to go back to school.

Because Washington is on the quarter system, Thompson had to follow an NCAA rule that requires athletes to be in class until the quarter is finished. So while the Panthers were on the field in Charlotte, their first-round pick was on the West Coast for all but five offseason workouts.

"I definitely was not ready," Thompson admitted. "My mind was focused on school, so I had to flip a switch."

That wasn't quick, either.

Shortly after the Panthers reported to Spartanburg for training camp, Thompson's hamstring flared up. That meant more key reps missed for a guy trying to transition from the mostly no-huddle Pac-12 to the NFL and its different terms and all sorts of shifts and motions.

Eventually, Thompson's hamstring stopped barking and he started to get a clearer understanding of his assignments. It helped, of course, that teammates like Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis were there to help.

"It's just like going from high school to college," Thompson said. "The game is so fast. You see different stuff, but now the game's slowed down.

"Look at Luke — he's beating the running back before he even gets there — that's how much it's slowed down for him, I bet. The reaction is what really slows the game down."

Because Thompson wasn't drafted to take over Davis' weakside spot immediately, the Panthers had the luxury of bringing along their rookie slowly. Thompson played about 34 percent of possible snaps on defense, recording 50 tackles and one sack in 14 regular-season games.

Thompson's best performance came in the NFC Championship Game when the 21-year-old lined up in the slot across from Cardinals' 12-year veteran Larry Fitzgerald. A week earlier, Fitzgerald tore apart the Packers' with eight receptions and 176 yards. Against the Panthers, he managed four catches for 30 yards.

"To play in front of a future Hall-of-Famer and take him out of the game," said Panthers' defensive coordinator Sean McDermott afterward, "I thought [Shaq] did a wonderful job."

So did Fitzgerald.

"He gave me my props after the game," Thompson recalled. "I felt good about myself after that."

The Panthers, too, are feeling good about what they did with their 2015 first-round pick – a call that was widely criticized at the time. 

2016 will be another grooming-behind-Davis season, but it could also feature plenty of Thompson in the Panthers' nickel defense. Even in limited time last year, the 6-foot, 230-pounder proved he could match up with tight ends and big-bodied receivers like Fitzgerald. And now that he's gone through a full season and summer, this Shaq Thompson isn't like the one who showed up to Spartanburg last summer.

"My confidence level is way up. I feel a lot more confident in myself and definitely into the playbook," he said.

"It took me a minute, but now I've got a season under my belt, I feel great and I'm ready to go."