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Jersey Number 8
Kris Thornton
- Year:
- Redshirt Senior
- Position:
- Wide Receiver
- Ht./Wt.:
- 5-8 / 180
- Hometown:
- Manassas, Va.
- High School:
- Osbourn
- Previous:
- VMI
- Major:
- Sport and Recreation Leadership
JMU Career Rankings
- 2nd in career receiving touchdowns (23)
- 3rd in career receptions (168)
- 4th in career receiving yards (2,540)
JMU Single-Season Record/Rankings
- First JMU player ever with both multiple and back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons
- JMU single-season receptions record (83 – 2021)
- 3rd in receiving touchdowns (13 – 2021)
- 4th in receiving yards (1,097 – 2021)
- 5th in receiving yards (1,015 – 2022)
- 9th in receptions (59 – 2022)
- Tied 10th in receiving touchdowns (7 – 2022)
JMU Single-Game Record
- Receiving Touchdowns (4) on Nov. 6, 2021
2022:
- Started all 11 games at wide receiver
- College Football Network Honorable Mention All-American
- First Team All-Sun Belt Conference wide receiver
- Football Bowl Subdivision All-ECAC Team
- VaSID First Team All-State
- Biletnikoff Award Watch List
- DC Touchdown Club Washington Metro College Football Player of the Week (Sept. 6)
- Pro Football Network Week 1 College Football Team of the Week – First Team
- Had 59 receptions for 1,015 receiving yards and seven touchdowns
- Also had four rushes for 27 yards to finish with 1,042 all-purpose yards
- Career-high 173 receiving yards on nine catches at Arkansas State (Oct. 8), which included season-long 54-yard reception
- Season-high 11 receptions for 145 yards and three touchdowns vs. Middle Tennessee (Sept. 3)
- Made six catches for 140 yards at Old Dominion (Nov. 12) with a long of 48
- Tallied five grabs for 126 yards and a long of 51 at Georgia Southern (Oct. 15)
- Registered seven catches for 102 yards and two scores vs. Norfolk State (Sept. 10)
- Four catches for 68 yards and two touchdowns vs. Georgia State (Nov. 19)
- Also added 97 receiving yards vs. Texas State (Oct. 1) and 93 receiving yards vs. #23 Coastal Carolina (Nov. 26)
- Had four or more catches in nine games and 6+ in five outings
- Recorded five 100-yard receiving games
- Tallied 90+ receiving yards in eight games
- Had a catch of at least 35 yards in six games and 25+ in nine
- Pro Football Network Honorable Mention Midseason All-American
- Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team offense
2021:
- Started all 14 games at wide receiver
- Phil Steele FCS Fourth Team All-American
- First Team All-CAA wide receiver
- VaSID First Team All-State
- DC Touchdown Club Washington Metro College Football Player of the Week (Nov. 9)
- Had 83 receptions for 1,097 yards and 13 touchdowns
- Averaged 13.2 yards per catch
- Also had five carries for 49 yards and a touchdown and one kickoff return for 23 yards
- Set JMU single-season record for receptions while ranking third in receiving touchdowns and fourth in receiving yards
- Ranked fourth nationally and second in the league in receiving touchdowns
- Ranked 15th nationally and second in CAA in total touchdowns (14)
- Ranked 18th nationally and tied for first in CAA in receptions per game (5.9)
- Ranked top 28th nationally and second in the conference in receiving yards per game (78.4)
- Also ranked seventh in the league in scoring per game (6.0)
- Set JMU single-game record with four receiving touchdowns on eight catches for 142 yards vs. Campbell (Nov. 6)
- Tied career high with 12 catches for 112 and two touchdowns at New Hampshire (Oct. 2)
- Had four catches for 82 yards and two touchdowns vs. Morehead State (Sept. 4)
- Scored two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving) vs. Southeastern Louisiana in FCS second round (Dec. 4)
- Five receptions for 116 yards and a score vs. Towson (Nov. 20), which included a career-long 83-yard catch
- Also had eight catches at Weber State (Sept. 18) and vs. Villanova (Oct. 9)
- Recorded at least one touchdown in eight games
- Had five or more receptions in 11 games
- Tallied at least 75 receiving yards in eight contests
- Had four catches of at least 50 yards and six over 40
- Preseason All-CAA wide receiver
- CAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll (Fall 2021)
- JMU Athletic Director's Scholar-Athlete (Fall 2021)
2020-21:
- Played in all eight games, making six starts at wide receiver
- First Team All-CAA wide receiver
- VaSID Second Team All-State
- CAA Offensive Player of the Week (Mar. 1)
- Had 26 receptions for 428 yards and three touchdowns
- Averaged 16.5 yards per catch
- Also rushed for two yards
- Ranked third in the CAA in yards per catch, tied for third in receiving touchdowns, fourth in receptions and eighth in receiving yards per game (53.5)
- Season-high five receptions for 65 yards and a touchdown vs. Robert Morris (Feb. 27)
- Season-best 90 receiving yards and a score vs. Morehead State (Feb. 20), which included a season-long 52-yard catch
- Had four catches for 78 yards vs. North Dakota in FCS quarterfinals (May 2)
- Scored a touchdown in FCS first round vs. former team VMI (Apr. 24)
- Had three or more receptions in seven games
- Tallied at least 50 receiving yards in five games
- Recorded four catches of at least 40 yards and five of 30+
- JMU Athletic Director's Scholar-Athlete (Spring 2021)
2019:
- Redshirted due to NCAA transfer rules
- JMU Athletic Director's Scholar-Athlete (Fall 2019, Spring 2020)
- CAA Football Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll (Fall 2019, Spring 2020)
Prior to JMU:
- Transferred to JMU after spending two seasons at VMI (2017-18)
- HERO Sports Honorable Mention Sophomore All-American in 2018
- Second Team All-SoCon selection as a sophomore and All-Freshman Team as a rookie
- Set VMI single-season record with 87 receptions in 2018
- Tallied 1,003 receiving yards and four touchdowns, averaging 91.2 yards per game
- Ranked fourth nationally with 7.9 receptions per game in 2018
- VMI career-high 155 receiving yards on 11 catches against Mercer in 2018
- In 2017, became first VMI freshman in over two decades to lead team in receiving, making 33 catches for 340 yards and two touchdowns
- Career-best 12 catches for 108 yards and two scores against Wofford in 2017
High School:
- Tallied 31 career touchdowns as a four-year starter at Osbourn
- Caught 94 passes for 1,601 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior, averaging 17.0 yards per catch and 160 yards per game
- Had a long catch of 89 yards in 2016
- Also had 12 rushing touchdowns as a junior and three kick return touchdowns his last two seasons
- Recorded nearly 3,200 all-purpose yards between junior and senior seasons, including 2,053 as a senior
- Principal’s Honor Roll student
Personal:
- Son of Keith and Juana Thornton
- Has two brothers, Corey and Caden
- His father was a four-year letter winner at JMU, playing wide receiver from 1987-90
- Graduated from JMU in May 2021 with a bachelor's degree in psychology
- Pursuing master's degree in sport and recreation leadership
Tuesday, September 08
Tuesday, September 08
Monday, September 07
Monday, September 07
