The Pittsburgh Steelers bolstered their safety depth chart on Monday, signing former Cleveland Browns S Juan Thornhill to a one-year contract. Thornhill is entering his seventh season in the league after the Kansas City Chiefs drafted him in the second round of the 2019 draft.
Thornhill has 337 total tackles, six tackles for a loss, one sack, 24 passes knocked down, eight interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), one forced fumble, and fumble recovery in six seasons. For a more thorough understanding of what he brings to the Steelers on the field, check out Ross McCorkle’s film breakdown.
But who is Juan Thornhill? What kind of human being are the Steelers getting?
Multi-Sport State Champ In High School
Thornhill is quite the athlete. He played both football and basketball while at Altavista High School in Virginia. Per his college bio on virginiasports.com, Thornhill scored over 1,000 points in his high school basketball career while being a part of three state championship teams.
Thornhill wasn’t just a multi-sport athlete. He played multiple positions on the football field. He played safety, grabbing five interceptions as a senior. But he also played quarterback, throwing for 1,299 yards and 15 touchdowns that year. He was also quite the dual threat, rushing for 1,562 yards, which led the team. He also scored the game-winning touchdown as a senior, running 40 yards to paydirt to secure Altavista’s second state title in a row.
Check out this clip of Thornhill at quarterback during Altavista’s title game in 2013. Perhaps he’ll find his way onto the quarterback depth chart?
Loves Taking Out Frustrations On The Football Field
There is a certain expectation for Steelers defenders. It goes back to the days of the Steel Curtain, with legendary players like Jack Ham and Mean Joe Greene on defense. The Steelers are going to beat you down. And Juan Thornhill loves football for precisely that reason.
“It’s a man’s game,” said Thornhill when he sat down with Nathan Zegura for the Browns’ YouTube channel. “That’s what makes me the most excited about it… When you come to this game right here, you can let out any frustration you want. You get paid to hit someone as hard as you can. So, that’s what I love most about this game.”
That just sounds like a Steelers defender.
Super Bowl Experience
The Steelers, especially on the defensive side of the ball, have quite a few veterans. But one thing those veterans lack is experience in playoff success, especially winning the Super Bowl. LB T.J. Watt does not have any experience winning a playoff game. Same with S Minkah Fitzpatrick. DT Cam Heyward has won a playoff game in Pittsburgh, but it’s been quite a while.
Juan Thornhill has won in the playoffs. In fact, he’s won two Super Bowls (and appeared in a third) with the Chiefs.
“I know what it feels like to be in that big game,” said Thornhill during his introductory press conference with the Browns per video from cleveland.com’s YouTube channel. “I know what it takes to win.”
With the Steelers having failed to win a playoff game since 2016, maybe Thornhill can provide some much-needed playoff experience to the locker room.
Proposing More Stressful Than The Big Game?
The Super Bowl is the biggest stage in football, bar none. Every kid who threw a football around their backyard or out in the street dreamed of scoring a touchdown for their childhood team. And Thornhill has been blessed to have played in two (he was injured and unable to play in the first Super Bowl with the Chiefs). But despite all those dreams and hard work, none of those Super Bowls were as stressful as proposing to his now-wife, Reagan.
“I’ve been a part of three Super Bowls, and the proposal might have been the most stressful thing I’ve ever been through. It was crazy,” said Thornhill in an episode of UNLEASHED on the Browns’ website. “I just said, ‘Let’s go to Savannah, see what it’s like.’ So, we went down there. She didn’t know that I had invited my friends, her friends, her family, and everything. They were there the day before, and we was there the day before. We all wanted to get out and do different things, and she didn’t even know they were there. So, I’m stressed. I’m like, I hope I don’t run into them because if I run into them, it’s gonna mess up everything.”
Preparing for unexpected wrinkles an offense will throw at you in the Super Bowl? Negligible compared to running into your soon-to-be fiancee’s parents when you’re trying to surprise her with a proposal.
Leans On His Wife To Deal With Mental Health Struggles
As a society, we spend a lot of time talking about physical health—and we should. It’s important that we take care of our bodies. But we should also devote more time, energy, and education to mental health.
Juan Thornhill certainly has learned a lot about his mental health. He credits his wife for helping him with that.
“My wife, I would say she’s probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Thornhill said on an episode of the Dawgs Only podcast on the Browns’ YouTube channel. “‘Cause growing up, I never was that kid that would speak up if I’m feeling something. I’ll just keep everything inside and let everything build up, and then eventually, it gets to the point where you just completely snap. And you can’t even control it.
“And then, ever since I met my wife, she forces it out of me. There’s times where I’m just sitting there; I’ll come home, especially last year, I was going through it big time with that injury. And I’ll just come and not even talk, and she’ll be like, ‘What’s wrong?’ And I’m just like nothing; I’m good. And then she’ll keep asking. It gets to the point where, all right, you going to keep asking, you going keep asking me, I’m gonna be honest. I’m gonna tell you straight up what it is. But as you said, as a young age, we’ve always been taught that, listen, don’t cry. If you cry, you’re not a man or things like that. And that’s not the right way to go about it.”
Thornhill has dealt with injuries throughout his career. He wasn’t able to play in the Super Bowl as a rookie. It also kept him off the field in Cleveland (he missed 12 games over two seasons) while robbing him of his effectiveness on the field. And that sort of problem can really affect a football player’s mind. You’re supposed to be an elite athlete, and your body is failing you. That can affect your mental health in bad ways. Thankfully, Thornhill’s wife supported him through it all.
