Shemar Thornton

#19 · WR · Sr. · Northern Illinois5′11″ · 191 lb · Miami, FL · Hallandale

Shemar Thornton: WR · Northern Illinois · #19.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Aaron FullerWashington · 2019 · 85% season match
Antonio NunnBuffalo · 2019 · 85% season match
Luke WysongNew Mexico · 2021 · 83% season match
Jehlani GallowayWestern Michigan · 2022 · 83% season match
Donny NavarroIllinois · 2021 · 83% season match

Shemar Thornton

WR · Northern Illinois · Sr · #19

Moves the chains on third down. Played for two head coaches across four seasons and two programs. A game that shows it: 81 receiving yards and 6 receptions against Eastern Illinois — Week 1, 2022.

Style of play

Play style

Reliable target who converts on critical downs. Not flashy; consistently productive.

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	Northern Illinois	30	327	10.9	0	38
2021	Florida International	5	27	5.4	0	14
2019	Florida International	51	668	13.1	5	54
2018	Florida International	7	134	19.1	2	29
Career		93	1,156	12.4	7	54

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2022 season · 9 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 34-27vs Eastern Illinois	6	81	13.5	38	Season-high 81 yds
Wk 2	L 35-38@ Tulsa	2	31	15.5	18
Wk 3	L 28-38vs Vanderbilt	5	37	7.4	12
Wk 4	L 23-31@ No. 8 Kentucky	1	7	7.0	7
Wk 7	W 39-10@ Eastern Michigan	2	11	5.5	7
Wk 8	L 17-24@ Ohio	1	20	20.0	20
Wk 10	L 22-35vs Central Michigan	5	49	9.8	23
Wk 12	L 23-29vs Miami (OH)	4	44	11.0	13
Wk 13	L 12-44vs Akron	4	47	11.8	15
Total		30	327	10.9	38

Signature game

Week 1 · 2022

W 34-27

vs Eastern Illinois

6 rec · 81 yds

A close one, won by 7 at home.

With R. Lombardi — 192 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 67.2 · H. Waylee — 83 rush yds (14 car) · 1 TD

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 1 · Eastern Illinois · 3rd and 10 · Q4 · EPA +3.82Rocky Lombardi pass complete to Shemar Thornton for 38 yds to the EIlln 44 for a
Week 2 · Tulsa · 3rd and 15 · Q3 · EPA +3.49Rocky Lombardi pass complete to Shemar Thornton for 18 yds to the Tulsa 30 for a
Week 8 · Ohio · 3rd and 7 · Q4 · EPA +3.22Justin Lynch pass complete to Shemar Thornton for 20 yds to the Ohio 41 for a
Week 1 · Eastern Illinois · 2nd and 10 · Q3 · EPA +2.71Rocky Lombardi pass complete to Shemar Thornton for 19 yds to the EIlln 45 for a
Week 4 · Kentucky · 3rd and 3 · Q2 · EPA +2.62Shemar Thornton pass complete to Tristen Tewes for 3 yds for a TD, (John Richardson KICK)
Week 13 · Akron · 2nd and 10 · Q4 · EPA +2.42Nevan Cremascoli pass complete to Shemar Thornton for 15 yds to the 50 yard line for a

4 more plays

Week 10 · Central Michigan · 3rd and 10 · Q4 · EPA +1.88Nevan Cremascoli pass complete to Shemar Thornton for 10 yds to the CMich 25 for a
Week 3 · Vanderbilt · 3rd and 8 · Q2 · EPA +1.77Rocky Lombardi pass complete to Shemar Thornton for 8 yds to the NoIll 35 for a
Week 10 · Central Michigan · 3rd and 3 · Q3 · EPA +1.61Nevan Cremascoli pass complete to Shemar Thornton for 4 yds to the NoIll 46 for a
Week 10 · Central Michigan · 2nd and 6 · Q3 · EPA +1.60Nevan Cremascoli pass complete to Shemar Thornton for 23 yds to the CMich 27 for a

Teams and coaches

2018Florida International9-4HC: Butch Davis · Run-leaning

2019Florida International6-7HC: Butch Davis · Run-leaning

2021Florida International1-11HC: Butch Davis · Balanced, slow tempo

2022Northern Illinois3-9HC: Thomas Hammock · Run-leaning

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 36 (#362 of 488). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

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

36Below cohort / limited sample #362 of 488 · 2022?

10 metrics · season cumulative

2022 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Concern: catch rate (6th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Yards / catch#437 / 636 · 31st pct

10.8

EPA / target#550 / 636 · 14th pct

0.32

Explosive rate#559 / 636 · 12th pct

5.7%

TD rate#554 / 636 · 7th pct

0.0%

Catch rate#600 / 636 · 6th pct

58.5%

Box-score rates (5)

Receptions#281 / 550 · 48th pct

Rec yards#358 / 550 · 35th pct

327

Long catch#401 / 550 · 26th pct

Yards / catch#414 / 550 · 24th pct

10.9

Rec TDs#486 / 550 · 6th 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 · 9 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home5g	4.8	51.6	10.7	0.0
Road4g	1.5	17.2	12.0	0.0

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-75g	3.2	33.4	9.8	0.0
Weeks 8+4g	3.5	40.0	13.2	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2022 season

Head Coach

Thomas Hammock

Pass share

40.9%

328 pass / 473 run

Plays / game

66.8

12 games

Team sack rate

2.7%

334 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-leaning.

Awards

Player standing · 2022

30 catches and 1 pass attempt in 9 games

About as many catches a game as a typical FBS receiver who plays every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

36 · #362 of 488 WRs · 2022

Two-star recruit. Now #362 at the position.

Shemar 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

30 catches and 1 pass attempt in 9 games

Six seasons, two schools

Moves

2017

2022 9 games