2015 Football Roster
Clayton Thorson
- Height:
- 6-4
- Weight:
- 220
- Position:
- QB
- Class:
- Redshirt First-Year
- Hometown:
- Wheaton, Ill.
- High School:
- Wheaton North
2018: Started all 14 games in his senior season and threw for 3,183 yards and 17 touchdowns while also rushing for nine more … Earned All-Big Ten honorable mention honors … Started the most games by a quarterback in Big Ten history with 53 … Finished as the program leader in career passing yards (10,731), completions (991), attempts (1697) and touchdowns (61) … Became the sixth player in Big Ten history to surpass 10,000 career passing yards … Is the only QB in Big Ten history to pass for 10,000 yards and rush for 20 touchdowns in his career … Started the season opener against Purdue after tearing his ACL in the Music City Bowl last season on Dec. 29, 2017, and threw for 172 yards (8/30) … Threw for three touchdowns and 383 yards against Akron (9/15) … Rushed for his first touchdown of the season against Michigan (9/29) … Threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for another in a dominant showing against Michigan State (10/6) … Exploded for a career-high 455 yards and three touchdowns on 41 completions against Nebraska, including engineering a 99-yard drive in 1:50 to tie the game with 12 seconds left (10/13) … Rushed for two touchdowns and threw for one in back-to-back weeks against Wisconsin and Notre Dame (10/27 and 11/3) … Tossed two touchdowns and ran for one more against Illinois (11/24) … Ran for a 18-yard touchdown and threw for another while racking up 267 passing yards against Ohio State (12/1) … Completed 21-of-30 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns while engineering a second half comeback and earning offensive MVP honors in his final collegiate game against No. 17 Utah in the Holiday Bowl (12/31).
2017: Started all 13 games, extending his streak of consecutive games started to 39 ... Became the program's all-time winningest quarterback with 26 career victories (26-12 overall) ... Named Third Team All-Big Ten ... Threw for over 300 yards three times ... Ranked third in the Big Ten with 218.8 passing yards per game ... Ranked 19th in the nation and led the Big Ten with 21.5 completions per game during the regular season... Passed for a career-high 370 yards and two touchdowns versus Bowling Green ... Also completed a season-high 76.7 percent of his passes versus the Falcons ... Rushed for a career-high eight touchdowns during the regular season ... Matched a career high with two rushing touchdowns in wins over Nevada and Nebraska ... Rushed for a touchdown in five straight games from Oct. 14 to Nov. 11 ... Matched his career high with three touchdown passes in a 39-0 win over Minnesota ... Tied the NU program record with his 44th career touchdown pass in the Wildcats' regular season finale at Illinois ... Academic All-Big Ten.
2016: Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection by the conference’s coaches and media ... Second season as the Wildcats’ starting signal caller ... Set a new NU single-season record with 22 touchdown passes ... His 3,182 passing yards are the most ever by a quarterback in their sophomore season and the fourth most in NU single-season history ... Ranked fourth in passing yards (3,182), yards per game (244.8) and touchdowns (22) ... Completed 23-of-36 passes for 214 yards and a touchdown in the Wildcats’ victory over No. 23 Pittsburgh in the 2016 Pinstripe Bowl ... Threw three touchdown passes five times, becoming the first Northwestern quarterback to accomplish the feat since at least 2000 ... His six consecutive games with at least 250 passing yards from Oct. 15 to Nov. 19 were the most by a Wildcat since Brett Basanez accomplished the feat in five-straight games in 2005 ... Threw for over 300 yards in two games ... Accounted for four touchdowns (three passing/one rushing) in wins at Iowa, Michigan State and Purdue ... Completed a season-high 77.1 percent of his passes (27-for-35) for 281 yards and three touchdowns in the 54-40 win at MSU ... Threw for a career-high 352 yards and three touchdowns on 23-of-36 passing in a 45-17 win at Purdue ... Completed a season-high 28 passes versus No. 8 Wisconsin and at Minnesota ... Had a season-long 42-yard touchdown run in the Big Ten opener versus Nebraska ... Second on the team with five rushing touchdowns ... Completed at least 55 percent of his passes in 8-of-12 games ... Academic All-Big Ten.
2015: Dual-threat quarterback ... Took over starting quarterback duties in his first season ... First quarterback in NU history to lead the 'Cats to 10 wins in his first season ... Used his speed to dash for five touchdowns, tied for first on the team ... Recorded a season-best run of 68 yards in victory at Nebraska ... Made his presence known with a 42-yard dash in his first career game versus Stanford ... Passed for seven touchdowns, including three in one game in the victory over Ball State ... Also registered a season-high 66-yard pass in his connection with superback Dan Vitale ... Put on a stellar 14-for-19 performance in a shutout of Minnesota ... Had an efficient performance of 11-for-16 for 152 yards versus Eastern Illinois ... Picked up 146 yards through the air vs. Illinois ... Twice earned NU's Offensive Big Playmaker of the Week honors, following the Minnesota and Nebraska victories … Finished season with 1,522 passing yards and 397 rushing yards.
2014: Redshirted his first season in Evanston.
High School: Ranked as a four-star recruit and the No. 6 dual-threat quarterback in the country by Rivals ... Named 2013 first-team All-State by Chicago Tribune, Champaign News Gazette and the IHSA ... Competed in the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl in California, where he was named the game's MVP ... Recorded 2,809 passing yards, 29 touchdowns, 630 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns in his senior year ... Twice led Wheaton North to appearances in the state quarterfinals ... In a 32-31 playoff win over Fenwick, registered 413 passing yards and five touchdowns to rally the Falcons back from a 31-6 second-quarter deficit ... Four-time Tom Lemming All-Area Team ... Two-time All Conference ... Recipient of the Jim Rexilius "Proper State of Mind" Award and the Red Grange Award ... Team captain ... Four-year honor roll student and a member of the Math Honor Society.
Personal: Born Clayton James Thorson ... Son of Chad and Shauna Thorson ... Father played for the New York Giants and played collegiately for Wheaton College, where two of Chad's older brothers also competed ... Clayton competed against former Wildcats Dan Vitale and Justin Jackson in high school, also playing AAU basketball with Jackson ... Chose Northwestern over numerous Big Ten offers (including Iowa, Penn State and Minnesota) as well as Boston College, Syracuse, Northern Illinois and Ole Miss ... Major is communication studies with a minor in business institutions.
