Bruce Thornton (defensive lineman)
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Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
| No. 77, 79 | |||||||
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| Position | Defensive end | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born | February 14, 1958 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | ||||||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||
| Weight | 263 lb (119 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school | Chadsey (Detroit) | ||||||
| College | Illinois | ||||||
| NFL draft | 1979: 8th round, 219th overall pick | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Bruce Edward Thornton (born February 14, 1958) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and St. Louis Cardinals. He was also a member of the Denver Gold of the United States Football League (USFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini.
Thornton attended Chadsey High School. Besides playing defensive tackle, he was also an accomplished saxophonist and received music scholarships offers.
He accepted a football scholarship from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. As a junior, he was a starter at defensive tackle and led the Big Ten Conference in sacks with 10. In his final year, he was moved to a backup role behind John Thiede, on a team that finished with a record of 1–8–2. He finished his college career with 32 sacks, placing him at the time fifth in school's history.[1]