Thornton to coach OL

AUBURN | Hugh Freeze’s staff is nearly completed.

Six days into Freeze’s tenure, he’s hired Jake Thornton to coach the offensive line.

Thornton comes from Ole Miss where he coached the offensive line for two seasons. The Rebels had a dominant rushing attack in 2022, averaging an SEC-best 261.4 rushing yards per game.

Ole Miss allowed just 14 sacks this season, which ranked third in the conference.

Thornton is also regarded as a strong recruiter, an area the Tigers have struggled with in acquiring offensive line talent.

Thornton was the offensive line coach and run game coordinator at Gardner-Webb in 2020, and at Tennessee Tech from 2018-19. He was a graduate assistant at Alabama in 2017 and an offensive analyst at his alma mater, Western Carolina in 2016.

He was a standout offensive lineman at both Carson-Newman and Western Carolina. Thornton’s grandfather, Billy Shaw, was a star offensive lineman at Georgia Tech and the Buffalo Bills, and was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1999.

Freeze has also hired running backs coach and associate head coach Cadillac Williams, tight ends coach Ben Aigamaua, defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett and linebacker coach Christian Robinson. Zac Etheridge is also expected to be retained as a defensive back coach.