Clayton James Thorson (born June 15, 1995) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Northwestern Wildcats The Northwestern Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northwestern University, located in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and one of two private universities in the conference, the other ...

. He was selected by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) in the fifth round of the

2019 NFL draft The 2019 NFL draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. The first round was held ...

Early life

Thorson attended

Wheaton North High School Wheaton North High School (WNHS), locally referred to as "North" is a public four-year high school in Wheaton, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. It is one of two high schools that are part of Community Unit School District 200, the other be ...

Wheaton, Illinois Wheaton is a city in and the county seat of DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It is located in Milton and Winfield Townships, approximately west of Chicago. As of the 2020 census, Wheaton's population was 53,970, making it the 27th-mos ...

. As a senior, he had 2,809 passing yards, 29 passing

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s, 630 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns. He received all-area, all-conference and all-state honors. In the playoffs against Fenwick High School, he guided his team to a 32–31 win, after coming back from a 6–31 second-quarter deficit, by tallying 413 passing yards and 5 touchdowns. He led his team to back-to-back state quarterfinals in his last two years. He was named MVP in Semper Fidelis

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

Bowl.

College career

Thorson accepted a football scholarship from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

freshman in 2015, he took over the starting quarterback job that was left open after

Trevor Siemian Trevor John Siemian (born December 26, 1991) is an American professional football quarterback. He played college football for the Northwestern Wildcats and was selected by the Denver Broncos in the seventh round of the 2015 NFL draft. Siemian wa ...

graduated. He completed 150 of 295 passes for 1,522 passing yards, 7 touchdowns, 9

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

s, 397 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns. He became the first quarterback in school history to have 10 wins as a freshman and in his first season as a starter. As a sophomore in 2016, the team lost its first two games against

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. B ...

and

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teachin ...

. He completed 280-of-478 passes for 3,182 yards (school record for sophomores), 22 passing touchdowns (school record), 5 rushing touchdowns (second on the team) and 5 interceptions. He had career-high 352 passing yards and 3 passing touchdowns in a 45–17 win against

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

. As a junior in 2017, he posted 2,844 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, 8 rushing touchdowns (second on the team) and 12 interceptions. He tore his right ACL in the 2017 Music City Bowl against the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

, while making a reception on a trick play. As a senior in 2018, he was limited by his previous right knee injury, coming back with less than 8 months of recovery. On November 10, Thorson led the Cats to a 14–10 victory over the No. 21 ranked

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

, earning Northwestern the 2018

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

West title. He finished with 3,183 passing yards, 17 passing touchdowns, 15 interceptions and 9 rushing touchdowns (led the team). His 53 consecutive starts at quarterback is the most ever in the Big Ten and tied for the most with

Colt McCoy Daniel "Colt" McCoy (born September 5, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns, winning several award ...

in all of the

Power Five conferences The power conferences are the most prominent athletic conferences in college football in the United States. They are part of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I, the highest level o ...

, and over those 4 years Clayton set several Northwestern career records including wins (35), passing yards (10,731), completions (991) and passing touchdowns (61). He is the only quarterback in Big Ten history to pass for 10,000 yards and rush for 20 touchdowns in his career.

College statistics

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Thorson was selected by the

in the fifth round (167th overall) of the

. He was waived during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019.

Dallas Cowboys

On September 1, 2019, Thorson was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Cowboys on December 31. On September 2, 2020, Thorson was waived by the Cowboys.

New York Giants

On September 29, 2020, Thorson was signed to 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

' practice squad. The signing reunited him with

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

Jason Garrett Jason Calvin Garrett (born March 28, 1966) is an American former professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He was most notably the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys from 2010 to 2019. Garrett played college f ...

, who was his

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

with the Cowboys. He was elevated to the active roster on December 5 and 19 for the team's weeks 13 and 15 games against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 4, 2021. On August 16, 2021, Thorson was

waived/injured The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

by the Giants and 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 ...

. He was released on August 25. On December 7, Thorson signed to the Giants practice squad and was released on December 14. On January 8, 2022, Thorson was signed back to the practice squad. His contract expired when the team's season ended on January 9.

Houston Gamblers

On February 22, 2022, Thorson was selected by the

Houston Gamblers The Houston Gamblers were an American football team that competed in the United States Football League in 1984 and 1985. The Gamblers were coached by veteran NFL head coach Jack Pardee in both their seasons. They were noteworthy for introducin ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL) in the

2022 USFL draft The 2022 USFL draft, also known as the 2022 USFL player selection meeting, was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2022 USFL season. The draft was held on February 22–23, 2022, with results released thro ...

. He was named the team's starting quarterback, even though he showed inconsistent play in the first two contests, while throwing 4 interceptions. On June 2, he was transferred to the inactive/

roster with an elbow injury. He started in the first seven games of the season, completing 57% of his passes for 987 yards, 10 passing touchdowns, 71 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown and 7 interceptions. At the time of his injury, he was the league's leader in passing touchdowns. He was replaced with

Kenji Bahar Kenji Bahar (born September 21, 1997) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Massachusetts Pirates of the Indoor Football League (IFL). He played college football for the Monmouth Hawks football, Monmouth Hawk ...

. On January 5, 2023, Thorson was released by the Gamblers.

Professional statistics

Personal life

Thorson and his wife, Audrey, have been married since June 2018.

References

External links

Northwestern Wildcats bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thorson, Clayton 1995 births Living people Players of American football from Wheaton, Illinois American football quarterbacks Northwestern Wildcats football players Philadelphia Eagles players Dallas Cowboys players New York Giants players Houston Gamblers (2022) players