Name: Payton Thorne
Position: QB
High School: Naperville Central
Graduation Year: 2019
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 187 pounds
Video Link:
My impressions of Payton Thorne: I have been able to watch in person Payton Thorne multiple times over the past 12-18 months, going back to his sophomore year at Metea Valley before transferring to Naperville Central a year ago. I also saw Thorne in live game action twice in 2018. Thorne, who is the son of North Central College HC Jeff Thorne was an all area and all conference performer for the Redhawks and head coach Mike Stine in 2018. Thorne is a smart, high character kid on and off the field who is no question a high level student of the game and a coaches son all the way...aka and Thorne is a football version of a gym rat.
Evaluation of Payton Thorne: Thorne is a good sized well put together who passes the all important eyeball test. Thorne has a very strong pocket presence, and also has a good knowledge level and football smarts and seldom is caught not making the right read. Thorne has a good, strong and very accurate arm that also possesses a well above average touch. Thorne was also able to show an impressive mid level and a strong deep ball. Thorne is also mobile and while he might not be say an RPO type of quarterback, Thorne possesses good speed and escapability and can be a threat when needed with the scramble. I was also impressed with how well Thorne managed the Redhawks offense in 2017 and was able to make check downs and adjust under pressure. Thorne is also just a very fundamentally sound quarterback who just seems to performer at a high level. Thorne, like several top level quarterback prospects seems to have a natural ability to lead and as mentioned above is a high character kid on the off the field while also being a strong student in the class room.
Questions or possible room for improvement for Payton Thorne? Thorne, like every high school level quarterback will need to continue to progress his overall game and QB skills. Thorne can get at times too locked onto his primary receiver and will need to be more comfortable find other options when under pressure. Thorne could also work on his overall arm strength, accuracy along with improving his overall speed/escapability. Again nothing too glaring here in my opinion.
Projected level:
Rivals.com has Payton Thorne currently unranked. I have Thorne starting off as a mid level 3 star name as well as being the top ranked QB in Illinois in the Class of 2019. I can also see Thorne continue to add more Mid level D1 offers this winter.I also see Thorne having a chance to "upgrade" those offers to potentially a lower to mid level Big Ten caliber scholarship offers this spring. I fully expect Thorne will draw several Power 5 coaches into school this spring to see him throwing live.
I also see Thorne starting off as a Top 10-15 level ranked name in the Class of 2019 in Illinois. Payton Thorne I feel is a very solid, steady and highly productive signal caller who will have a chance top develop into a longer term D1 level contributor and starter.
Position: QB
High School: Naperville Central
Graduation Year: 2019
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 187 pounds
Video Link:
My impressions of Payton Thorne: I have been able to watch in person Payton Thorne multiple times over the past 12-18 months, going back to his sophomore year at Metea Valley before transferring to Naperville Central a year ago. I also saw Thorne in live game action twice in 2018. Thorne, who is the son of North Central College HC Jeff Thorne was an all area and all conference performer for the Redhawks and head coach Mike Stine in 2018. Thorne is a smart, high character kid on and off the field who is no question a high level student of the game and a coaches son all the way...aka and Thorne is a football version of a gym rat.
Evaluation of Payton Thorne: Thorne is a good sized well put together who passes the all important eyeball test. Thorne has a very strong pocket presence, and also has a good knowledge level and football smarts and seldom is caught not making the right read. Thorne has a good, strong and very accurate arm that also possesses a well above average touch. Thorne was also able to show an impressive mid level and a strong deep ball. Thorne is also mobile and while he might not be say an RPO type of quarterback, Thorne possesses good speed and escapability and can be a threat when needed with the scramble. I was also impressed with how well Thorne managed the Redhawks offense in 2017 and was able to make check downs and adjust under pressure. Thorne is also just a very fundamentally sound quarterback who just seems to performer at a high level. Thorne, like several top level quarterback prospects seems to have a natural ability to lead and as mentioned above is a high character kid on the off the field while also being a strong student in the class room.
Questions or possible room for improvement for Payton Thorne? Thorne, like every high school level quarterback will need to continue to progress his overall game and QB skills. Thorne can get at times too locked onto his primary receiver and will need to be more comfortable find other options when under pressure. Thorne could also work on his overall arm strength, accuracy along with improving his overall speed/escapability. Again nothing too glaring here in my opinion.
Projected level:
Rivals.com has Payton Thorne currently unranked. I have Thorne starting off as a mid level 3 star name as well as being the top ranked QB in Illinois in the Class of 2019. I can also see Thorne continue to add more Mid level D1 offers this winter.I also see Thorne having a chance to "upgrade" those offers to potentially a lower to mid level Big Ten caliber scholarship offers this spring. I fully expect Thorne will draw several Power 5 coaches into school this spring to see him throwing live.
I also see Thorne starting off as a Top 10-15 level ranked name in the Class of 2019 in Illinois. Payton Thorne I feel is a very solid, steady and highly productive signal caller who will have a chance top develop into a longer term D1 level contributor and starter.
