West Virginia University Athletics

One of the strongest defensive tackles in school history, John Thornton was a four-year starter with 41 consecutive starts from 1995-98.
 
A two-time All-Big East selection from Philadelphia, Thornton finished with 45 tackles in 1998, including a season-high 10 tackles against Maryland. He led the team with eight quarterback pressures and posted seven tackles for loss with four sacks.
 
The 1998 Defensive co-captain won the John Russel Memorial Award from the WVU coaching staff as the team's top lineman. He was named to the All-American Strength Team by the National Strength Coaches Association in 1997. He was a first team All-American by the Sports Network.
 
Thornton posted 51 tackles and five tackles for loss each as a sophomore and junior.
 
Thornton played in three bowl games at WVU: the 1997 Gator Bowl, the 1997 Carquest Bowl and the 1998 Insight.com Bowl. He was a member of WVU's top-ranked defense in the country in 1996 that led the nation in total defense at 223.4 yards per game, No. 2 in rushing defense (65.9 yards per game) and turnover margin, No. 4 in scoring defense (13.0 points per game) and No. 5 in pass efficiency defense.
 
He finished his Mountaineer career with 162 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 15 sacks, one interception, two forced fumbles and six passes broken up.
 
Thornton was drafted in 1999 by the Tennessee Titans as the 52ndpick overall (second round) and had a 10-year career in the NFL.
 
From 1999-2002, he played with the Titans and finished with 4.5 sacks in his rookie season, the most by any rookie defensive tackle that season, and earned a spot on the NFL's All-Rookie Team. He appeared in Super Bowl XXXIV for the Titans against the St. Louis Rams. He helped the Titans to the playoffs in three of his four years, including a second trip to the AFC Championship game in 2002.
 
 In 2000, Thornton started in every game for the Titans and finished the season with 55 tackles. He recorded eight tackles, his season high in the game, on Sept. 3. Due to a shoulder injury, he only played in the first three games in 2001. In 2002, he started in every game for the Titans and was part of the defense that limited their opponents to 89.0 rushing yards per game. He recorded 44 tackles in the regular season.
 
In 2003, Thornton signed with the Cincinnati Bengals and recorded a career-high six sacks. In 2004, he started in every game and recorded 74 tackles. In 2005, he played 16 games, making 24 solo tackles, 18 assists, and two sacks. In 2006, he played 15 games, making 28 solo tackles, 15 assists, and two sacks. In 2007 while being named defensive captain, he played 14 games, making 24 solo tackles, eight assists, and one sack. In 2008, he played in 13 games, recording 24 solo tackles, six assists and three sacks. Thornton retired following the 2008 season. He played in 92 of a possible 96 games and made 88 starts during his six seasons in Cincinnati.
 
For his NFL career, he recorded 303 tackles, 27.5 sacks and forced four fumbles.
 
Thornton studied sport management at West Virginia. He was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame and Mountaineer Legends Society in 2019.