Payton Thorne Parents: Meet Jeff and Joanna Thorne

Payton Thorne is an American football quarterback for the Auburn Tigers. He is the son of Jeff and Joanna Thorne.

Thorne is from a football family. His grandpa, John Thorne, was a highly successful high school coach who went on to run North Central College, a Division III programme in Illinois, for 13 seasons.

Thorne’s father, Jeff Thorne is a former footballer and football coach. In 2022, he served as the offensive coordinator at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Jeff Thorne was North Central College’s head football coach from 2015 to 2021. He took over for his father, John Thorne, and guided the 2019 team to an NCAA Division III national championship.

Following his 2019 National Championship, he was voted D3football.com Coach of the Year. Thorne coached Broc Rutter, the 2019 Gagliardi Trophy winner. Thorne played quarterback at Eastern Illinois University in the early 1990s.

Payton Thorne began his high school career at Metea Valley High School in Aurora, Illinois, before moving to Naperville Central High School in Naperville, Illinois.

Thorne attended Michigan State where he played college football. He appeared in four games as a backup to Rocky Lombardi in 2020, making one start. Thorne has been added to the Maxwell Award watch list for the 2022 season.