Kris Thornton

#8 · WR · Sr. · James Madison5′8″ · 179 lb · Lubbock, TX

Kris Thornton: WR · James Madison · #8.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Brenen ThompsonMississippi State · 2025 · 69% season match
Brandon BowlingUtah State · 2021 · 67% season match
Calvin Austin IIIMemphis · 2021 · 61% season match
Tyrin SmithUTEP · 2022 · 59% season match
Trayvon RudolphNorthern Illinois · 2021 · 57% season match

Kris Thornton

WR · James Madison · Sr · #8

Beats you over the top. First career honor, 2022: All-Sun Belt. One game to point at: 173 receiving yards and 11 rushing yards against Arkansas State — Week 6, 2022.

Style of play

Play style

Stretches the field vertically. Every snap is a potential big play.

Fans

No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2022	James Madison	60	1,025	17.1	7	54
Career		60	1,025	17.1	7	54

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

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2022 season · 11 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

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 No. 23 Coastal Carolina	6	93	15.5	0	28
Total		60	1025	17.1	7	54

Signature game

Week 1 · 2022

W 44-7

vs Middle Tennessee

12 rec · 155 yds · 3 TD

Dominant 37-point win at home against Middle Tennessee.

With T. Centeio — 287 yds · 6 TD · 0 INT · QBR 84.7 · 110 rush yds (14 car) · S. Clark — 42 yards per punt · 5 punts · 2 inside the 20

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 6 · Arkansas State · 2nd and 8 · Q3 · EPA +3.93Todd Centeio pass complete to Kris Thornton for 54 yds to the ArkSt 19 for a
Week 13 · Coastal Carolina · 3rd and 10 · Q2 · EPA +3.74Todd Centeio pass complete to Kris Thornton for 27 yds to the CCaro 40 for a
Week 7 · Georgia Southern · 2nd and 5 · Q1 · EPA +3.62Todd Centeio pass complete to Kris Thornton for 51 yds to the GeoSo 24 for a
Week 11 · Old Dominion · 2nd and 4 · Q2 · EPA +3.53Todd Centeio pass complete to Kris Thornton for 48 yds to the ODU 31 for a
Week 2 · Norfolk State · 1st and 10 · Q1 · EPA +3.35Centeio to Thornton: a 43-yard touchdown pass.
Week 12 · Georgia State · 3rd and 8 · Q4 · EPA +3.16Todd Centeio pass complete to Kris Thornton for 16 yds for a TD, (Camden Wise KICK)

4 more plays

Week 7 · Georgia Southern · 4th and 9 · Q4 · EPA +3.08Todd Centeio pass complete to Kris Thornton for 20 yds to the JMads 46 for a
Week 7 · Georgia Southern · 1st and 10 · Q4 · EPA +2.98Todd Centeio pass complete to Kris Thornton for 41 yds to the 50 yard line for a
Week 1 · Middle Tennessee · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +2.97Todd Centeio pass complete to Kris Thornton for 35 yds for a TD, (Camden Wise KICK)
Week 12 · Georgia State · 2nd and 7 · Q1 · EPA +2.95Todd Centeio pass complete to Kris Thornton for 26 yds for a TD, (Camden Wise KICK)

Teams and coaches

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

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 84 (#25 of 488). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles · 2022 season

84All-Conference level #25 of 488 · 2022?

13 metrics · season cumulative

2022 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. 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 in 2022. 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

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

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

2022 season

Head Coach

Curt Cignetti

Pass share

41.1%

327 pass / 468 run

Plays / game

72.3

11 games

Team sack rate

5.7%

349 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-leaning.

Awards

Player standing · 2022

All-Conference 1st team

First team in his league at the position.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

84 · #25 of 488 WRs · 2022

Kris Thornton

Similar players

Style of play

Fans

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

Signature game

Signature plays

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

All-Conference 1st team

Three seasons, two schools

2022 11 games