Interesting facts about Auburn offensive line coach Jake Thornton
Auburn has not yet completed its staff under the direction of head coach Hugh Freeze, but it is close. One of the big pieces was announced less than a week ago. Jake Thornton left Ole Miss to take over the offensive line at Auburn.
Thornton has already hit the ground running as a recruiter for the Tigers. He is a younger coach, but considered a riser in the coaching world.
Here are some interesting facts about Auburn’s new offensive line coach.
Family and personal history playing offensive line
- The offensive line positions are in Thornton’s blood. His grandfather, Billy Shaw, played offensive line for Georgia Tech. He then went to the next level and played offensive guard for the Buffalo Bills for several years (back before players jumped from team to team). Shaw became a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999.
- Thornton played offensive line at Western Carolina where he started 33 games in a row as a 6-0 265-pound center. He won first team All-Southern Conference (SoCon) honors in 2014. In 2015, he helped the Western Carolina offense have its first 1,000-yard rusher in close to a decade.
Coaching career
- Thornton was a part of Alabama’s 2017 National Championship staff. He was an offensive line graduate assistant at the time. Some notable names he helped coach while there: Ross Pierschbacher, Jonah Williams, and Bradley Bozeman among others. Being that he was a G.A., he probably spent more time with the freshmen class of offensive linemen: Alex Leatherwood and Jedrick Wills were some notable names.
- After Alabama, Thornton moved up to a bigger role at a smaller school. He became the run-game coordinator and offensive line coach at Tennessee Tech. After two years there, he moved to Gardner-Webb to assume the same role.
- Thornton spent two seasons at Ole Miss. In 2021, the Rebels had the nation’s 12th best rushing attack averaging 217 yards per game. In 2022, the Rebels had the nation’s 3rd best rushing attack only behind the two service academies, Army and Air Force. They averaged 261 yards per game on the ground.
Recruiting and development
- Nick Broeker, senior left guard at Ole Miss who was developed under Thornton, is going to the Reese’s Senior Bowl and will have a chance to be drafted in the high rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft. He played left tackle and left guard while at Ole Miss.
- Two players from Thornton’s first recruiting class at Ole Miss were starters on the offensive line in their second year (both redshirt freshmen): former 3-star Jayden Williams from Conway, Ark. started at left tackle, and former 3-star Micah Pettus from Harvest, Ala. (James Clemons) at right tackle.
- Thornton helped land Utah offensive line transfer Orlando Umana who would start at center for one year in 2021.
- Thornton helped land Western Kentucky transfer offensive lineman Mason Brooks over Auburn and others.
