Football

On Monday night, Jake Thornton was on the field as a graduate assistant for the University of Alabama as the Crimson Tide played for the Football Bowl Subdivision’s national championship against Georgia at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Not even days later, he was in the football offices in Tucker Stadium, taking on a new task as he was hired at Tennessee Tech’s new offensive line coach.

“I couldn’t help but jump on the opportunity,” Thornton said. “Coach (Dewayne) Alexander and Coach (Tre) Lamb talked to me, and it really is a great opportunity for me and my family because I am excited about the whole vibe I’m getting from Tennessee Tech right now. It’s really positive and I think we can do some really great things here.”

Talk about a week for Thornton – coaching in the FBS title game less than a week ago and making a whole new start, literally just hours later.

“Monday night was a whirlwind of experiences,” Thornton said. “From winning the game to getting here, there’s just been so much. But as soon as the game ended, my mind transitioned to Tennessee Tech. We had been thinking about it for a long time – me and my fiancé, Alyssa – but it was a whirlwind of emotions. But once I got here, we got settled in and this feels like home to me.”

And with a head coach with an offensive line background like Dewayne Alexander has, bringing Thornton on was an exciting prospect.

“One of the best things you can say when you’re looking to hire a coach is ‘Have you seen this guy coach?’” Alexander said. “(Defensive coordinator) Donnie Suber, I’ve watched him coach. (Linebackers coach) Bruce Hatfield, I have first-hand watched him coach. I’ve seen (offensive coordinator) Tre Lamb coach. I’ve seen (associate head coach and tight ends coach) Doug Malone coach. I didn’t need a resume or interview to know what they do and know that I want them to be a part of this.

“Jake Thornton, I worked offensive line camp with at the University of Alabama, so I’ve observed him coaching. I was just very, very impressed. I walked up to their office to their offensive line coach and said, ‘Hey, the young guy here, tell me a little about him because he is absolutely outstanding. I watched him run drills and communicate. He ran the coaching drills and explained what we would be doing. He had such a tremendous presence and you could tell that he had it, that specialness about him.”

And the two were able to build a rapport.

“We stayed in touch and I told him – this was back in July of this past summer – that if I ever ended up being a head coach again that I was going to give him a call. He said, ‘Coach, I would love that.’ We kind of hit it off. We had some mutual friends involved. Jake and Tre actually had a connection with a pee-wee baseball coach in North Georgia, so they knew people.”

Thornton was just as complimentary of his new boss.

“Coach Alexander is a hard worker,” Thornton said. “I know the reputation he has around here in the state of Tennessee and he’s done a great job everywhere he’s been. With the energy he brings, he means a great deal to me and I’m just fortunate that I get to work under him.”

Thornton’s connections at his alma mater of Western Carolina only further cemented what Alexander knew.

“Mark Speir, the head coach at Western Carolina, could not say enough good things about him,” he said, “and I trust Mark a lot – and he’s done some things there at Western that I’d love to be able to see us accomplish. Jake was a team captain there, played on the offensive line as a center and played 33 straight games. He was a tremendous player, then he stayed on board as a coach there, then got the opportunity at Alabama.

“I actually talked to Coach Speir at the AFCA convention and he went out of his way to let me know what a special young man this guy is, so it was a no-brainer to me to want to bring him on board.”

Thornton started his collegiate career at Carson-Newman in 2011, then transferred to Western Carolina in 2012. After sitting out a year for the NCAA transfer rule, he started 33 straight games and helped lead the Catamounts from consecutive 1-10 seasons to two straight seven-win campaigns and two second-place finishes in the Southern Conference.

He was named first-team All-SoCon in 2014 and second-team the following year.

His grandfather, Billy Shaw, played offensive guard for the Buffalo Bills and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, inducted in 1999.

Following his graduation in December 2015 with a bachelor’s in history and minor in political science, he became WCU’s offensive quality control coach and assistant offensive line coach for the 2016 campaign. Last February, he joined Nick Saban’s staff as an offensive line graduate assistant.

“From a recruiting standpoint, he gives us an Alabama connection,” Alexander said. “That has been a key state for us in recruiting, especially from the Birmingham area north. He’s watched a lot of film and those Alabama high school coaches certainly know anybody who worked at the University of Alabama. His experience of being in a National Championship game and being a part of that kind of program and being around all the things they do from recruiting and practice preparation. He’s had some tremendous experiences in his background, and – again – someone who is excited about being here at Tennessee Tech.”

Coming from Alabama, there’s no doubt he learned a lot from his previous staff.

“I learned what being attentive to details means,” Thornton said. “I learned to watch different things and how to coach players and how to win by being around those guys. Coach Saban taught me a lot of lessons and how to handle different things. It was a very fantastic experience for me, especially being a younger guy, and I have been honored to be a part of his staff for the time I was.”

And as Thornton begins his first assistant coaching position, he’s focused.

“Right now, I want to meet the guys,” he said. “I want to get a feel for them, but I want them to know who I am as a coach and I’m looking forward to building a relationship with those guys and create our own little culture among the offensive line. Secondly, we’ve got to find some new Golden Eagles and get them on board so we can start this thing off right.”

His philosophy as an offensive line coach is simple.

“We’re going to get after them,” Thornton said. “We’re going to be tough, physical, play with a lot of energy. We’re going to play with a lot of pride. We’re going to be at full tilt from the moment we step out on the field to the second we get off. We’re going to do everything we’re supposed to do and we’re going to do it the right way. That goes for off the field as well, 100 percent of the time.”