Hugh Thornton (born June 28, 1991) is a professional gridiron football offensive tackle for the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-o ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). He played college football at

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the third round of the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall ...

. Thornton has also been a member of the Atlanta Falcons and

Arizona Hotshots The Arizona Hotshots were a professional American football franchise based in Tempe, Arizona, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which played one season from February 2019 to April 2019. They played their h ...

Early years

Thornton attended Oberlin High School in

Oberlin, Ohio Oberlin is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, 31 miles southwest of Cleveland. Oberlin is the home of Oberlin College, a liberal arts college and music conservatory with approximately 3,000 students. The town is the birthplace of th ...

, and played for the Oberlin Phoenix high school football team. He also wrestled for the Oberlin HS wrestling team and in the 2008-2009 season placed third in Ohio at the OSHAA state tournament.

College career

Thornton enrolled in the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

, where he played for the

Illinois Fighting Illini football The Illinois Fighting Illini football program represents the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) level. The Fighting Illini are a founding member of ...

team from 2009 to 2012. Following his senior season in 2012, he was recognized as a second-team All-

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

selection.

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts chose Thornton in the third round (86th overall) of the

. He began his rookie season as a backup to Mike McGlynn and Donald Thomas at offensive guard. However, he was made a starter after Thomas sustained a season ending quadriceps tear in a week two loss to the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

, and would go on to start 12 regular season games at left guard as a rookie, in addition to the two playoff games that the Colts played in that postseason. In 2014, Thornton appeared in 10 games, 8 as a starter. On December 28, 2015, Thornton was placed on injured reserve. He played in 13 games in the 2015 season, 12 as a starter. On September 3, 2016, Thornton was placed on injured reserve.

Atlanta Falcons

On March 21, 2017, Thornton signed with the Atlanta Falcons. On May 9, 2017, Thornton announced his retirement.

Arizona Hotshots

In 2019, Thornton came out of retirement and joined the

of the Alliance of American Football. He was placed on injured reserve on January 30, 2019. He was activated from injured reserve on March 13, 2019.

Washington Redskins

On July 31, 2019, Thornton signed with the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

. He was waived on August 31, 2019.

Calgary Stampeders

On April 8, 2022, Thornton signed with the

of the

(CFL).

Personal

When Thornton was twelve years old, his mother and sister were murdered by his mother's ex-boyfriend in his childhood home in Jamaica.

References

External links

Indianapolis Colts bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Hugh 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from Boise, Idaho Players of American football from Idaho American football offensive guards Illinois Fighting Illini football players Indianapolis Colts players Atlanta Falcons players Arizona Hotshots players Washington Redskins players Calgary Stampeders players Players of Canadian football from Idaho Canadian football offensive linemen