Thornhill Earns Academic All-District Honors
12/3/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 3, 2000
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State junior linebacker Josh Thornhill, who led the team in tackles with 114 in 2000 and carries a 3.41 grade-point average in kinesiology, has been named to the Verizon Academic All-District IV Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Thornhill anchored a Spartan defensive unit that led the Big Ten in total defense, allowing 318.3 yards per game. The 6-foot-2, 232-pound middle linebacker reached double figures in tackles in seven of his last 10 games. He ranked third in the Big Ten in tackles, averaging 10.4 per game. The Lansing, Mich., native earned Spartan Defensive Player of the Week honors twice in 2000, vs. Purdue (14 stops) and Northwestern (season-high 15 tackles).
Last September, Thornhill became one of MSU's first student-athletes to be recognized as a "Champion in the Classroom."
To be nominated for the Academic All-District Team, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.2 cumulative grade-point average (on a 4.0 scale) for his career. He also must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing.
District IV includes all schools from the states of Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee.
His name now appears on the national ballot for the Academic All-America Team that will be announced Dec. 5.