Kris Thornton

Senior wide receiver for James Madison. 2022: 60 catches, 1,025 receiving yards, 7 TD.

WR · James Madison · Sr. · #8

5′8″ · 179 lb · Lubbock, TX

CFB Index 84 · #25 of 488 WRsHigh confidenceAll-Conf 1st teamJames Madison 2022 alumnus

The story

4 wide receiver for James Madison. 2022: 60 catches, 1,025 receiving yards, 7 TD.

The record fills in as he plays.

His career, year by year

How it ended

One season at James Madison, 1,025 receiving yards, a first-team All-Conference season (2022) — his college career is complete.

His career

Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.

The week the volume broke through — put up 173 yds at Arkansas State.Arkansas State · W 42-202022

202211 games

All-Sun Beltfirst

Career arc

Recruit

—

No recruit profile

CFB

College

James Madison

2022

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Trophy case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

3 honors · 1 category

🥈

ALL-SUN BELT · 1ST TEAM

All-Sun Belt 1st team (2022)

2022 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2022James Madison8-3HC: Curt Cignetti · Run-leaning

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles

84All-Conference level #25 of 488?

High confidence13 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: explosive rate (99th percentile). Strength: epa / target (99th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Explosive rate#4 / 636 · 99th pct

34.4%

EPA / target#7 / 636 · 99th pct

1.43

Catch rate#1 / 636 · 99th pct

100.0%

Yards / catch#50 / 636 · 92nd pct

17.0

TD rate#59 / 636 · 91st pct

13.1%

Box-score rates (8)

Rec yards#28 / 550 · 95th pct

1025

Yards / catch#57 / 550 · 89th pct

17.1

Rec TDs#46 / 550 · 89th pct

Receptions#59 / 550 · 88th pct

Fumbles lost#1 / 223 · 84th pct

Rush yards#71 / 275 · 74th pct

Long catch#219 / 550 · 59th pct

Rush TDs#48 / 275 · 41st pct

Season trend

EPA / target— first qualifying season

Explosive rate— first qualifying season

Catch rate— first qualifying season

TD rate— first qualifying season

Yards / catch— first qualifying season

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Splits & context

Splits · Per-game

2022 season · 11 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home6g	6.2	93.7	16.0	1.2
Road5g	4.6	92.6	15.8	0.0

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-76g	6.3	109	15.9	0.8
Weeks 8+5g	4.4	74.6	16.0	0.4

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Billy Napier

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2022

All-Conference 1st team

First team in his league at the position.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

84 · #25 of 488 WRs

Career stats

Season	Team
2022	James Madison	60	1,025	17.1	7	--
Career		60	1,025	17.1	7	--

Season	Team
2022	James Madison	4	27	28	--	--
Career		4	27	28	--	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2022

W 63–7

vs Norfolk State

7 rec · 102 yds · 2 TD

Dominant 56-point win at home against Norfolk State.

With T. Centeio — 165 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · QBR 89.5 · 29 rush yds (4 car) · A. Barnett — 14 yds · 0 TD · 0 INT · QBR 98.6 · 16 rush yds (3 car)

Signature plays

Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|

The plays that mattered most

fact

Week 6 · Arkansas State · 2&8 · Q3 · EPA +3.93Todd Centeio pass complete to Kris Thornton for 54 yds to the ArkSt 19 for a 1ST down
Week 13 · Coastal Carolina · 3&10 · Q2 · EPA +3.74Todd Centeio pass complete to Kris Thornton for 27 yds to the CCaro 40 for a 1ST down
Week 7 · Georgia Southern · 2&5 · Q1 · EPA +3.62Todd Centeio pass complete to Kris Thornton for 51 yds to the GeoSo 24 for a 1ST down
Week 11 · Old Dominion · 2&4 · Q2 · EPA +3.53Todd Centeio pass complete to Kris Thornton for 48 yds to the ODU 31 for a 1ST down
Week 2 · Norfolk State · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA +3.35Kris Thornton 43 Yd pass from Todd Centeio (Camden Wise Kick)
Week 12 · Georgia State · 3&8 · Q4 · EPA +3.16Todd Centeio pass complete to Kris Thornton for 16 yds for a TD, (Camden Wise KICK)
Week 7 · Georgia Southern · 4&9 · Q4 · EPA +3.08Todd Centeio pass complete to Kris Thornton for 20 yds to the JMads 46 for a 1ST down
Week 7 · Georgia Southern · 1&10 · Q4 · EPA +2.98Todd Centeio pass complete to Kris Thornton for 41 yds to the 50 yard line for a 1ST down
Week 1 · Middle Tennessee · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA +2.97Todd Centeio pass complete to Kris Thornton for 35 yds for a TD, (Camden Wise KICK)
Week 12 · Georgia State · 2&7 · Q1 · EPA +2.95Todd Centeio pass complete to Kris Thornton for 26 yds for a TD, (Camden Wise KICK)

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2022 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 44-7vs Middle Tennessee	12	155	12.9	3	35	3 TD catches
Wk 2	W 63-7vs Norfolk State	7	102	14.6	2	43	2 TD catches
Wk 4	W 32-28@ App State	1	-1	-1.0	0	0
Wk 5	W 40-13vs Texas State	4	97	24.3	0	34
Wk 6	W 42-20@ Arkansas State	9	173	19.2	0	54	Season-high 173 yds
Wk 7	L 38-45@ Georgia Southern	5	126	25.2	0	51
Wk 8	L 12-26vs Marshall	4	47	11.8	0	38
Wk 10	L 10-34@ Louisville	2	25	12.5	0	18
Wk 11	W 37-3@ Old Dominion	6	140	23.3	0	48	140-yard receiving day
Wk 12	W 42-40vs Georgia State	4	68	17.0	2	26	2 TD catches
Wk 13	W 47-7vs Coastal Carolina	6	93	15.5	0	28
Total		60	1025	15.9	7	54

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology