I like that you took time to review some game footage instead of spouting out opinions based just on readiing scouting reports; however, unfortunately your conclusions are way off base on this player.
I’m not a Thornhill fan-boy. I think he is a good player but I also like some of the other Safeties as options at #58, especially CGJ.
Thank for taking the time to make a rebuttal X. There is quite a bit of subjectivity when watching film. Show two guys the same video and they can have two different conclusions, such as me and you
. (Which is why I have a huge issue with PFF)
We're in agreement on CGJ. Seems like everyone in the thread is. But we disagree quite a bit below.
Video 1:
The big missed tackle at 1:20 was not on Thornhill. It was on the defender (#34) closer to the QB at the point where the QB cut back.
Keep in mind that Thronhill was in help coverage on the receiver coming across the field and the QB was still behind the line at the point that Thronhill made the cut back in the opposite direction. Either way, the QB went outside of the other defender and Thornhill was on the inside of that defender.
On the TD at 3:53 I can’t see what happened on that play from the Broadcast video. There are 2 WR(s) and 3 DB(s) in the frame at the time the camera pans to the catch.
The tackle at 6:42 does not mean much when projecting him to the NFL. There are plenty of times that he makes form tackles or ankle tackles where he displays strong hands to maintain his grip. The ability to make ankle tackles with strong hands is something that I look for in Safeties and Thronhill has displayed that ability. As long as the player has demonstrated the ability to tackle correctly, NFL coaches will make certain that he uses the correct tackling style consistently.
At 1:20, I didn't say he missed a tackle. I said he took a poor angle. If he had widened out, he would've beat the QB to the sideline and met him around the 50.
Also if he had better play recognition, he could've made the tackle MUCH sooner. The QB took off with intentions to run rather early and Thornill was still worried about his zone instead of pursuing the QB. That half-second to second late of diagnosing the play late mattered. He ended up going in the wrong direction, slipping, then taking a poor angle in pursuit. I have no doubt that a guy like CGJ(and a few others) would've recognized the QB was taking off earlier, ditched their zone, and tackled the QB way before he had any chance of running for 70.
at :17 of this video you can see how late Thornhill is in recognizing that the QB is taking off. Also, at :55 in the same video, you get a different angle of the TD that occurred at 3:53 in the other video. You can see that Thornhill is at least partially to blame for allowing the TD. That was just one of 2 (nearly 3 TD's) he gave up in this game.
Disagree on the tackling form. He lunges at offensive players' lower bodies without wrapping up FAR too frequently, and he doesn't have the strength/power as some of the other safeties in this class (like an Abram) to get away with it.
Video 2:
On the play at 0:54 Thornhill has responsibility for the inside gap. He is required to maintain that gap to allow #13 to get over towards the outside. Also #28 is very slow to react back towards the inside. The big issue with that play was coaching/scheme. They had all 11 defenders aligned within 7 yards from the line of scrimmage.
At 3:20 he makes the tackle. I don’t know why he does not just push the runner out of bounds; however, as long as he’s making the tackle the college coaches probably didn’t say anything about it.
At 3:22 he hit the runner low while another defender already had 1st contact. If he used this style on open-field tackles where there was no immediate help then it would be a problem but in this situation it’s not a big issue.
The Safety Abram made plenty of non wrap-up type tackles but like Thronhill did wrap-up when needed.
Yeah, we're gonna disagree on the play at :54. #17 run blitzed the inside gap at the snap. #37(?) had responsibility on the strongside. #13 was lined up as stand up DE on the weakside. #28 was responsible for containing the jet sweep.
That left Thornhill in the remaining gap to make the play, and he was just too slow to react and move laterally to do anything.
3:20 & 3:32 is just poor technique X.
Video 3:
It’s a good sign that his coaches had him playing like a LB on some snaps. For a player that some NFL teams reportedly project to CB, the fact that his college coaches respected his ability to play the run enough to put him in that position is a very good sign. It’s especially good for the Cowboys because they would likely need him to play some snaps as the Down Safety in 2019. Obviously he does not have the size to be a full time college LB.
At 8:10 he took the correct angle(s). As the last line of defense defender the play is to force the runner towards the other defender and the sideline. He has to continue his path to intercept the runner at the sideline until the runner cuts back. At worst Thornhill might have been 1 step off from the ideal angle. He got blockedd in the back which would generally get called in the NFL but rarely in college football. It would have been great if he could have made the tackle at the end but the issue was not really a bad angle.
Just because a team utilizes a player in a particular way doesn't mean that's an area that the player excels at.
C'mon X, you did a whole breakdown on our safeties and should know that first hand, seeing how we had Heath out of position at SS last year. Not because he's great at tackling, disengaging from blocks, or taking great angles, but because he was the best option they had. That had to be the case with Thornhill playing LB for UVA, because playing in the box is NOT his strong suit.
For this game, the poor angles comment was referring to other plays throughout the game. The play at 8:10 I was highlighting the missed tackle that led to a first and goal, not a poor angle. He actually did take a good angle on this play. But that missed tackle was the difference between 1st and 10 outside the red zone, and 1st and goal (which resulted in a TD).
Video 4:
He had 13 INTs in college. Any player with 13 INTs is going to get some of them from deflections or an occasional easy one from a QB mistake.
I can only speak on the INT's that I did see from the four games in 2018.
