GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Menomonie High School graduate Brody Thornton saw a action in five games during his first year at NCAA Division I University of North Dakota.
The 6-foot, 4-inch, 220-pound edge rusher saw action in five games as a true freshman for the Fighting Hawks, who advanced to the second round of the FCS playoffs. Thornton, who was a first team all-Big Rivers Conference pick his senior year at Menomonie, saw his first action against Valparaiso University on Sept. 20, then had to wait just short of a month before seeing time against Southern Illinois, Oct. 18.
A week later against Indiana State, Thornton put his name on the stat sheet for the first time, recording his first collegiate sack in a 46-17 win. Thornton played against Tennessee Tech, Nov. 29 in the first round of the FCS playoffs with a 31-6 win. Thornton recorded three tackles, one solo, and assisted on a tackle for loss in the second round 31-13 loss to Tarleton State, Dec. 6.
Thorton finished the year with four tackles, two solo, 1.5 tackles for loss for 10 yards and one sack. The 19th-ranked Hawks finished the season at 8-6 overall.
UW-Stout’s Brooks Brewer was a third team d3football.com All-Region pick. A first-team All-WIAC defensive back, Brewer, a 6-2, 200-pound junior, was second on the team with 68 total tackles (35 solo). He recorded four pass breakups, one tackle for loss, one forced fumble, and three interceptions, including a 66-yard pick-six against Dubuque. He was named WIAC Defensive Player of the Week and earned D3football.com Team of the Week honors on Sept. 9. Center T. J. Scott was a first team all-region selection. Jojo James was selected second team as a return specialist. Linebacker Blaine Seidl joined Brewer on the third team. The Blue Devils finished the season at 6-5 overall.
Isaac Ellison was a member of the FCS top-ranked North Dakota State University Bisons football team. The 6-2, 216-pound freshman tight end did not see game action for the Bisons this season. Ellison was a first team All-BRC and all-region wide receiver during his senior season at Menomonie. The Bisons finished the season at 12-1 overall, going 8-0 in conference play, but were upset in the first round of the FSC playoffs by Illinois State, 29-28.
Senior Reed Styer was a quarterback at NCAA Division II Concordia-St. Paul, and saw limited action during his junior campaign. The 6-4, 225-pound Styer completed 8 of 15 passes for 107 yards. He carried the ball nine times for 53 yards. Over three seasons, Styer has played in 12 games and completed 53 of 112 passes for 510 yards and a TD. He has rushed 27 times for 82 yards. The Golden Bears finished the season at 2-9 overall. Former UW-Stout players Levy Hamer and Mike Bond were members of the Bears coaching staff.
Layne Pitt retired as the longest serving sports information director at UW-Stout and also worked more than a decade at the Dunn County News.
Menomonie Collegians is a regular feature of Menomonie News Net. The column is not limited to student-athletes, but may be a former Menomonie area student in a play, forensics, music or any type of collegiate competition. If you know of a Menomonie Collegian, please email [email protected].
Menomonie Collegians by Layne Pitt is licensed under a CC BY SA 4.0 International license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
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