Name: Jarod Thornton
School: North Central College
Position: C
Height: 6-0
Weight: 295

Q: What goals did you set and/or accomplish in your final collegiate season?

I set out to be the best player and leader I could possibly be to help my team be the best version of ourselves while competing for a national championship. I earned 1st team All American honors by D3Football.com and by the Associated Press. I also am the 2023 recipient of the Rimington Award given to the premier center at each level of college football. Lastly, I started in my 4th straight national championship game.

Q: What would your coaches and teammates say about the type of player you are?

They would not only say that I am a great leader, but that I also make the people around me better with the level of confidence, effort, and intensity I approach every day with.

Q: When you are studying film, what are the things you focus on to improve your game?

When studying film on myself from practice and games I focus on technique and how my success or failure on that snap is a direct result of how good or poorly my technique was on that play. I make it an emphasis to focus on the things I struggle with the most and take every practice opportunity I have to get better. When studying the opponent I focus on tendencies for specific personal to help me better understand what I’m going to get out of them on Saturday on top of understanding our game plan and how we want to attack certain alignments and formations given by the opponent.

Q: What separates you from the other pro prospects at your position?

Football is a result based game so I can show you with my play better than I can put it in to words, but I live this game and I am hungry for every opportunity that I am blessed with. I come from very humble beginnings and had to take a lot of risk and sacrifice so much to be in the position that I am in. I am no stranger to scratching and clawing for every thing I want in life and my testimonies are what gives me the edge to go out and make the most of my opportunities.

Q: What is your offseason plan to train and prepare for professional opportunities?

I train every offseason with some of the best trainers in my area from strength and conditioning, speed work, and position specific work.

Q: What kind of strengths and abilities will you bring to a team that will stand out both on and off the field?

As I mentioned before the intensity, competitiveness, attitude, and effort that I bring to every single day will show because that’s who I am, and when you pair that with the willingness and ability to lead a group of men makes for a great fit for any organization.

Q: What is your final pitch to the NFL and any other pro leagues?

The passion and mindset I have towards this game is like no other for me in my life. This is my dream and this game is the only thing I have ever cared about. A humble leader with that killer instinct inside of me to find a way to get the job done always. I just need a chance.