Thornton Chandler

Thornton Chandler is a former professional American football tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Alabama.

Early years
Chandler attended William M. Raines High School, where he was switched from wide receiver to tight end, after he grew up to 6–5 feet and 240 pounds as a freshman. As a senior he received All-American honors. Against Lake City High School, he had 10 receptions for 170 yards and 2 touchdowns.

He received All-City honors twice, even though he was mostly a blocker in his team's wishbone offense, finishing his career with 29 receptions and 4 touchdowns.

As a freshman at Florida A&M University, he played the flanker and tight end positions, before deciding to transfer to the University of Alabama after just two games.

At Alabama he was named the starter in 1983 and became an accomplished blocking tight end in the team's run-oriented offense. In 1985, he was the team's third-leading receiver, registering 16 receptions for 244 yards. In 32 games, he posted 32 receptions for 504 yards (15.8-yard average) and 2 touchdowns.

Dallas Cowboys
Chandler was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round (140th overall) of the 1986 NFL Draft. As a rookie, his first 2 receptions went for touchdowns. He was Doug Cosbie’s backup for two years, until earning the starting job in the fifth game of the 1988 season.

The next year Thornton broke his wrist playing basketball, before the start of training camp which affected his play. This resulted in losing his starting job to Steve Folsom and eventually being waived on October 18, 1989. In three-plus seasons, Thornton was mostly known for his blocking ability. He recorded 29 receptions for 268 yards and 4 touchdowns.

New York Giants
On April 12, 1990, the New York Giants signed Chandler as a free agent, but he was released before the start of the season.

Personal life
Chandler was the director of the Boys & Girls Club in Deerfield Beach, Florida. He also serves as a football assistant coach at Anthony Aguirre Middle School in Houston, Texas. His son Kolby was on the 13th season of USA version of MasterChef.