Khyri Thornton
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Khyri Jerome Thornton (born November 21, 1989) is an
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...
for the
Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...
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 College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...
at
Southern Miss The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...
, and was drafted by the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
in the third round of the
2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...
. He has also been a member of the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
,
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
,
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
, and
St. Louis BattleHawks The St. Louis BattleHawks are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne Johnson’s Alpha A ...
.


High school career

Thornton was born in
Panama City, Florida Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee and Pensacola. It is the more populated city of the Panama City–Lynn Ha ...
and attended Bay High School there, where he made 49 tackles including 46 solo stops, two sacks, three forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery as a senior. He also played
fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...
, recording 678 yards rushing with 10 touchdowns. He did not qualify academically for the
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
standards, leading him to spend one year at
Hargrave Military Academy Hargrave Military Academy (HMA) is a private, all-male, military boarding school located in the town of Chatham, Virginia. Hargrave is affiliated with the Baptist General Association of Virginia emphasizing Christian values that focuses on a col ...
in
Chatham, Virginia Chatham is a town in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, Pittsylvania County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Pittsylvania County, Virginia, Pittsylvania County. Chatham's population was 1,269 at the 2010 census. It is included in the ...
. He was considered a four-star recruit by ''
Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...
''. He was ranked 16th among prep school prospects, and the 20th best prospect at defensive tackle in 2008 by
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
. He was named to the ''Orlando Sentinel'' Top 100 and played in the North-South Football All-Star Classic. He worked construction while he was in high school.


College career

Thornton was well recruited coming out of school and had received interest in a number of schools including Arkansas, Clemson, Florida State, and South Florida. After originally committing to
South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...
, he had not been approved by USF's academic committee, despite meeting the NCAA standard. He enrolled instead at
Southern Miss The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...
, and was given a redshirt designation in 2009. Thornton started his career with the Golden Eagles by playing in all 13 games in 2010 and recording 17 tackles, five tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks. He had his best game of the season against
Prairie View A&M Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU or PV) is a public historically black land-grant university in Prairie View, Texas. Founded in 1876, it is one of Texas's two land-grant universities and the second oldest public institution of higher learning ...
where he recorded three tackles. At the end of the season, he was selected to the Conference USA All-Freshman team as voted on by the league's head football coaches. In 2011, he appeared in 14 games, starting seven at defensive tackle, and tallied 24 tackles, nine tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks with one pass batted, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. During the 2011 Hawaii Bowl, Thornton had two tackles and one half-sack. Thornton was Southern Miss's primary defensive tackle in 2012, playing in 12 games and starting 11 of them. During the game against Western Kentucky, He intercepted a pass and returned it 12 yards. He ended his junior campaign with 36 tackles, 23 of which were solo, 9.5 tackles for loss which was the second-best on the team. He also had one sack and a forced fumble. In his final year with the Golden Eagles, Thornton started 11 games and was voted a team captain by the other players. He had his best game of the season against Florida International University, where he had a season-high seven tackles, 2.5 of those for a loss, and added on half a sack. In eight games he had at least three tackles, and five stops in four contests. Thornton missed the final contest of his collegiate career due to a deep bone bruise that caused some internal bleeding he sustained the week before against Middle Tennessee. He finished up the year with 39 tackles (16 solo), 6.5 tackles for loss and half a sack. For his efforts, he was named to the All-Conference USA second-team as a defensive lineman by the league's coaches. He was a finalist for the Conerly Trophy, which is given annually to the state's top collegiate player. Although he was beaten for the award by
Gabe Jackson Gabriel C. Jackson (born July 12, 1991) is an American football guard who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Mississippi State. Early years A nati ...
, an offensive guard from
Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univers ...
. He finished his collegiate career with 50 games played, 28 starts, 116 tackles (58 solo), 30 tackles for a loss, 5.5 sacks, two forced fumbles (one recovered), an interception, and three defended passes.


Professional career

Thornton received an invitation and played in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, becoming only the second Southern Mississippi player to attend. During the game, he was noted up as "frequently taking up multiple blockers" and that he showed fast hands and an ability to pressure the quarterback. He recorded one sack in the game. To prepare for the
NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...
, Thornton reportedly worked out at the EXOS facility in Gulf Breeze, Florida at the recommendation of former teammate and current
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
linebacker Jamie Collins. He entered the facility at six-foot-three inches tall and weighing 300 pounds. One of the trainers there said that he was so big he had to cut a slit in his shirt to get it over his head. During an interview at the facility, Thornton said that scouts had told him he needed to work on keeping his pads low, but he was more focused on running a fast forty yard dash and his bench press. Thornton was projected to be drafted in the late fifth or early sixth round by NFL Scouts. Scouts said that he had great strength and quick hands, and was very versatile on the defensive line with good bursts of speed. He was said to have short arms and small hands and could do a better job working off blocks and protecting his legs. Stamina was a concern, as was his lack of pass rush moves. He missed a lot of tackles and did not have that many sacks. Scouts were concerned that he did not face top talent at the collegiate level. One of scout's biggest concerns was how often he took plays off from the game. He offered a rebuttal about taking plays off saying that he still ran towards the ball and that he never gave up on a play, and that he always encouraged his teammates to do the same. Overall, he was projected to be a project player and a good fit in schemes used by the
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
,
Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...
, or
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
Thornton was drafted by the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
in the third round (85th overall) of the
2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...
. He was the fifth defensive lineman drafted by Packers' General Manager
Ted Thompson Ted Thompson (January 17, 1953 – January 20, 2021) was an American professional football player and executive in the National Football League (NFL). He was the general manager of the Green Bay Packers from 2005 to 2017. Thompson had a 10-y ...
in three years. Mike Mayock commented that the Packers had drafted a player who "flies all over the field. He can play inside, but he moves along the line of scrimmage. There's an energy, there's a motor." Thornton admitted that he was surprised to hear his name as one of the Packers' two picks in the third round. Thompson has said that Khyri kept catching the Packers' eye even though he didn't play on a team that won a lot of games. It was predicted by the media that the Packers would move him from defensive tackle to defensive end or they would attempt to convert him to nose tackle. He was not projected to star in the scheme, but was expected to be part of the defensive rotation


Green Bay Packers

Thornton signed his rookie contract on May 19, 2014. His former defensive coordinator at Southern Miss, Derrick LeBlanc commented that Green Bay was going to get a guy who would work hard every day and that he has the talents for a long career in the NFL. During training camp, Thornton noted that he had played in five schemes in five years while in college and believed that that experience would allow him to fit in anywhere on the defensive line. He commented saying that he would play whatever position the coaching staff wanted him to play commenting "Wherever I can get in, to fit, to make us win, I'll play it. I enjoy playing. I'm gonna give my effort, 100 percent." In his first preseason, he recorded six tackles in four preseason games and was considered "on the bubble" for a roster spot. Packers head coach
Mike McCarthy Michael John McCarthy (born November 10, 1963) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). From 2006 to 2018, he was the head coach of the Green Bay Packers. In 2011, he led t ...
said that Thornton was "Raw" and that "This is a whole different system for him. Everything's new. But, boy, he's got a lot of fast twitch in his body for a big man." He played more snaps then anyone on the defensive line with eighty during the preseason. On August 30, 2014, Thornton was placed on injured reserve after sustaining a hamstring injury in the final preseason game against the
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...
. On September 5, 2015, Thornton was waived by the Packers.


New England Patriots

The
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
claimed Thornton off waivers on September 6, 2015. He was waived on September 17, 2015, but was re-signed on October 1, 2015. On October 22, 2015, Thornton was released by the Patriots.


Detroit Lions

On October 25, 2015, Thornton was claimed off waivers by the
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
. During the 2016 season, Thornton played in 13 games for the Lions, starting 6 and recording 18 tackles and a sack. Thornton took over as a starting defensive tackle for the Lions midseason due to struggles from Tyrunn Walker, but eventually lost his starting job to rookie
A'Shawn Robinson A'Shawn Robinson (born March 21, 1995) is an American football defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama and was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the second round of the 20 ...
and became a rotational defensive tackle. On March 7, 2017, Thornton signed a two-year contract extension with the Lions. On June 20, 2017, Thornton was suspended the first six games of the 2017 season for violating the league's policy on substances of abuse. He was reinstated from suspension on October 16, 2017. On November 21, 2017, Thornton was released by the Lions.


New York Giants

On November 29, 2017, Thornton signed with the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
. He was released on December 12, 2017. Thornton was suspended 10 weeks by the NFL on December 23, 2017, which was served over the final two weeks of the 2017 season and the first eight weeks of the 2018 season. He was reinstated from suspension on October 30, 2018.


St. Louis BattleHawks

In October 2019, Thornton was selected by the
St. Louis BattleHawks The St. Louis BattleHawks are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne Johnson’s Alpha A ...
in the
2020 XFL Draft The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social m ...
. He was placed on
injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...
on December 18, 2019. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.


Toronto Argonauts

Thornton signed with the
Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...
on February 2, 2021. He was placed on the suspended list on July 20, 2021.


Statistics

''Source
NFL.com
'


Personal life

Thornton's cousin attended high school with him and is now a wide receiver at
Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...
. While in college, he volunteered at Dubard High School in Hattiesburg, Mississippi where he worked with special needs children. He traveled and spoke to high-school and middle-school students while in college. He currently resides in Panama City Florida. He has said that his ultimate goal in the NFL is to make sure his mother "never has to work again."


References


External links


Detroit Lions bio

Green Bay Packers bio


{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Khyri Living people 1989 births Sportspeople from Panama City, Florida Players of American football from Florida Bay High School (Panama City, Florida) alumni American football defensive tackles Southern Miss Golden Eagles football players Green Bay Packers players New England Patriots players Detroit Lions players New York Giants players St. Louis BattleHawks players Toronto Argonauts players