Thorton commits to NDSU

[MinotBison]

The Bison got a good one, as Esley Thorton just verballed to them.

[Ballingman]

I know esley personnaly...

[Thirty]

I know esley personnaly...

Is that a confirmation?

[balla45]

Completely legit. Esley will be a stud. Great pick up for the Bison. Good luck to both.

[inky]

Esley Fox my bro is the 2nd best QB in the WDC behind Alex Hanson, my bad brah

[Favrefan4ever]

Esley Fox my bro is the 2nd best QB in the WDC behind Alex Hanson, my bad brah

this is not a smart comment
although hanson is good Thorton is a much better quarterback
which is why NDSU offered him
NDSU got a good one with thorton and they need a QB although mertens looked decent in the first game

[King James]

Let esley throw the ball 25 times a game and lets see what he can do. Esley is on a different level then hanson

[Thirty]

Let esley throw the ball 25 times a game and lets see what he can do. Esley is on a different level then hanson

Surround Alex with state-championship-winning-caliber players, so that teams can't just focus on him, and lets see what he can do. Alex is on a different level than Thorton

[greatbambino]

Let esley throw the ball 25 times a game and lets see what he can do. Esley is on a different level then hanson

Surround Alex with state-championship-winning-caliber players, so that teams can't just focus on him, and lets see what he can do. Alex is on a different level than Thorton

he will be on a different level next year, playing for ___________(insert in-state NAIA/DII school here).

[brownbomber]

Let esley throw the ball 25 times a game and lets see what he can do. Esley is on a different level then hanson

Surround Alex with state-championship-winning-caliber players, so that teams can't just focus on him, and lets see what he can do. Alex is on a different level than Thorton

he will be on a different level next year, playing for ___________(insert in-state NAIA/DII school here).

haha if hes such a great player he would do great no matter what there are a bunch of guys who had/have that problem hahaha

[Thirty]

Let esley throw the ball 25 times a game and lets see what he can do. Esley is on a different level then hanson

Surround Alex with state-championship-winning-caliber players, so that teams can't just focus on him, and lets see what he can do. Alex is on a different level than Thorton

he will be on a different level next year, playing for ___________(insert in-state NAIA/DII school here).

haha if hes such a great player he would do great no matter what there are a bunch of guys who had/have that problem hahaha

hahahaha I was just using a counter example to prove a point hahahahahaha I never said that he can't work with what he has hahahaha

[King James]

Williston had the best O line in the state and the best recievers. What else does he need to do to look good and get a D1 offer. Joe Hanstad hasn't won anything in basketball and isn't surrounded by much talent but he's going to be a big time d1 player. Same with Dufault.

[Thirty]

Williston had the best O line in the state and the best recievers. What else does he need to do to look good and get a D1 offer. Joe Hanstad hasn't won anything in basketball and isn't surrounded by much talent but he's going to be a big time d1 player. Same with Dufault.

Personally, I though that BHS O line was way better than Williston's last year, and I think that other teams' were better too. Williston had the biggest, but Hanson had to do quite a bit of scrambling. He did have an amazing receiving crew, but that still let defenses focus completely on the passing game. And you're right that that isn't any excuse, a good player is a good player. I think that Hanson should get more credit than he has gotten though, I don't see any reason why NDSU would offer to Thorton and not even look at Hanson, I don't think Esley is head and shoulders above Hanson

[King James]

Hes a freak athlete, throws on the run very well, hes a lot stronger than people give him credit for, and hes got tremondous upside.

[squeak63]

Williston had the best O line in the state and the best recievers. What else does he need to do to look good and get a D1 offer. Joe Hanstad hasn't won anything in basketball and isn't surrounded by much talent but he's going to be a big time d1 player. Same with Dufault.

Personally, I though that BHS O line was way better than Williston's last year, and I think that other teams' were better too. Williston had the biggest, but Hanson had to do quite a bit of scrambling. He did have an amazing receiving crew, but that still let defenses focus completely on the passing game. And you're right that that isn't any excuse, a good player is a good player. I think that Hanson should get more credit than he has gotten though, I don't see any reason why NDSU would offer to Thorton and not even look at Hanson, I don't think Esley is head and shoulders above Hanson

i honestly don't get why williston couldn't pound people in the run last year they had such a good passing game and they had IMO the 2 best tackles in the league and probably the best TE in the league... keep in mind their running back went to play at a school who is going to be D2 in a coulple of years... I believe williston is probably the most guys playing college football this year out of any team from the west... i can't think of another west team that more guys playing at the next level now... and those 2 tackles i was talking about both would have been playing as true freshmen in D1 and D2 ... i just can't see how they couldn't run the ball

[october23sp]

Hes a freak athlete, throws on the run very well, hes a lot stronger than people give him credit for, and hes got tremondous upside.

Tremendous backside too.

[unocero14]

He's just an all out athlete...one of the reasons is god gave him a left arm, a dang strong one too.

[und52]

Hanson is a good quarterback, but i think that Thorton has more room to develop in the future and that is why NDSU probably offered him... and he is a pretty good athlete

[Stallng]

Hanson is a good quarterback, but i think that Thorton has more room to develop in the future and that is why NDSU probably offered him... and he is a pretty good athlete

Hanson dont get the exposure Thornton gets, give Hanson some room to develop, Pocket Passer, reads defense and can run. AND HE CAN PASS.

[eggman]

Hanson is a good quarterback, but i think that Thorton has more room to develop in the future and that is why NDSU probably offered him... and he is a pretty good athlete

Hanson dont get the exposure Thornton gets, give Hanson some room to develop, Pocket Passer, reads defense and can run. AND HE CAN PASS.

Thank you Mr. Miles

[goteam11]

Hanson is a good quarterback, but i think that Thorton has more room to develop in the future and that is why NDSU probably offered him... and he is a pretty good athlete

Hanson dont get the exposure Thornton gets, give Hanson some room to develop, Pocket Passer, reads defense and can run. AND HE CAN PASS.

What is there like 12 teams in AAA football? i think they get pretty much the same exposure. What makes hanson more of a pocket passer than thorton? theres no way he reads the defense better, hanson had more picks against a very bad jamestown team than esley has had all year. i think they have about the same running ability. AND HE CAN PASS????? Thorton, by far, has the best arm in the state, and is also the most accurate, in the pocket or on the run.

[janobilly20]

thorton will not succeed at NDSU. I have no idea why they offered him anything. This is D1 football we're talking about. Look at past ND hs stars to play there; luke senger dominated hs but now he no longer plays, zach wentz is the best hs qb ND has seen and he wasnt even good enough to play, and josh horner who averaged something like 20 yards a carry at south, has trouble trying to take snaps as a back up on the practice squad. This is a whole other level we are talking about, one where thorton wont last long

[King James]

You can't compare him to senger he is a different position. Wentz didn't stick it out. Did he even try it for a full year? Wentz would probably have had success. Esley is a different QB than Wentz as well. Esley is quicker and better out of the pocket. Esley is also a very capable defensive back. And you can't say Wentz is the best QB because Century threw the ball thirty times a game to over rated players like Dane Vanderpan. Where BHS runs the ball 25-30 times a game, besides the GFC game where they worked on there no huddle offense the whole game. I will say this if Wentz isn't the QB at Century in 2008 all his wide recievers except Schossler don't get any exposure.

[Riders00]

Wentz the best qb ND has ever seen? Seriously?
Off the top of my head Brooks Bollinger, Kevin Feeney, Jake Landry, and at least one Cichy are all above Wentz and Thorton is better as well.

[flatlander]

Zach Wentz was asked to walk-on at NDSU but decided to concentrate on baseball before fall camp. I think he made that decision before fall camp even started. He's a great baseball player and being a DI QB takes a lot of time.

(this is going to get long but it's kind of interesting). Here's a list of ND kids Coach Bohl has signed:

Graduted: Roehl, Wurzbacher, Jangula, Belquist, and Harrington (5 starters, 4 all conference, 3 NFL camps).
Seniors: Keith Buckman, Matt Kittelson, Josh Lee (2 starters, Lee never got academically eligible)
Juniors: Matt Anderson, Michael Arndt, Landon Smith, Lee Vandal (all play, 2 starters)
Sophomores: Austin Richard, Luke Senger (1 starter, 1 transfer)
Redshirt Freshmen: Josh Horner, Austin Vetter (both playing)
True freshmen: Brandon Jemison, Ryan Drevlow, and Andrew Grothman (1 starting, 2 redshirts)

So, of all the ND guys Coach Bohl has signed, one transferred and one didn't cut it academically. That's pretty good evaluation, I'd say.