Bruce Thornton (cornerback)

Infobox NFLactive


name=Bruce Thornton
currentteam=Free Agent
currentnumber=--
birthdate=birth date and age|1980|1|31
birthplace=LaGrange, Georgia
heightft=5
heightin=10
weight=192
currentposition=Cornerback
college=Georgia
debutyear=2004
debutteam=Dallas Cowboys
draftyear=2004
draftround=4
draftpick=25
status=Free Agent
pastteams=
* Dallas Cowboys (2004-2005)
* San Francisco 49ers (2005-2006)
* New York Jets (2006)
* Jacksonville Jaguars (2007)
statdate=2008-04-11
statlabel1=Tackles
statvalue1=41
statlabel2=Interceptions
statvalue2=2
statlabel3=Return yards
statvalue3=43
espn=http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6880

Bruce Thornton (born January 31, 1980 in LaGrange, Georgia) is an American football cornerback who is currently a free agent. He was originally drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the 4th round of the 2004 NFL Draft.

College career

While attending the University of Georgia, Thornton redshirted his freshman year in 1999. The following year, he started one game at tailback for the Bulldogs before being converted to cornerback by Willie Martinez, Georgia's secondary coach and defensive coordinator. He eventually became the Bulldogs' best cornerback, often facing the opponents' best receivers [cite web
url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/13/SPG3AFNF8U1.DTL
title=Thornton corners a job with 49ers
accessdate = 2008-04-12 ] . He went on to collect 129 tackles and four interceptions (including one returned for a touchdown) in his collegiate career. [cite web
title=Bruce Thornton - Jacksonville Jaguars - Sportsnet.ca
url=http://www2.sportsnet.ca/football/nfl/players/Bruce_Thornton/
accessdate = 2008-04-11] [cite web
title=Bruce Thornton - ArmchairGM - Sports Wiki Database
url=http://www.armchairgm.com/Bruce_Thornton
accessdate = 2008-04-11 ]

Professional career

Thornton was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the 4th round (121st overall) of the 2004 NFL Draft. He only played one game as a Cowboy in 2004, in which he returned two kickoffs for 43 yards, before being sidelined for the season with an ACL tear in his knee.

After being signed off the practice squad by the San Francisco 49ers in 2005, Thornton started 11 games for the Niners, opposing high profile wide receivers, such as Marvin Harrison and Plaxico Burress. In August 1, 2006, after struggles in his play caused him to drop in the depth chart, Thornton was released by the 49ers. [cite web
author=Associated Press
title=Niners release former starting CB Thornton
url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=nfl&id=2536576
date=2006-08-01
accessdate = 2008-04-11 ] The New York Jets quickly signed him on August 4, 2006, but waived him 8 days later.

In 2007, Thornton was acquired by the Jaguars, but never played a down that year. A few months later, he signed with the practice squad of the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League. Currently, he is a free agent.

External links

* [http://search.nfl.com/players/brucethornton/profile?id=THO761791 NFL.com player page]

References