‘They are getting a beast’: Chapin lineman ready to begin college career at NC State
Justin Gentry usually handles microphone duties during signing day ceremonies at Chapin High School.
On Wednesday, the Chapin football coach stepped aside for a moment and was able to be a father watching his son Thornton, an offensive lineman, go through the ceremony and sign with North Carolina State.
“It is hard to describe, to be honest for you,” Justin Gentry said. “It has been this thing I have seen everyone else, the pride and the feeling the joy parents, see on this day. Even though I was part of this with my other players who I call my sons. It is very surreal. I know he is going to do great things.”
The N.C. State signee said his dad didn’t take it easy on him while coaching and he wouldn’t have had it any other way.
“He pushed me to my limits and that is what some people didn’t see,” Thornton Gentry said. “... If I messed up in practice, he didn’t want me to start (in the next game). It was that kind of mentality that I practiced with and played with to perfect my game. And I hope to continue to perfect my game at N.C. State.”
The Gentry family spent Wednesday taking photos and talking with friends and family, and also reflecting on what it took to get to this point. Obstacles along the way included Thornton finding out he had microtia as a child and then playing his senior season with a leg injury.
Thornton was diagnosed with microtia shortly after he was born. According to the Stanford Children’s Health, microtia is a congenital deformity of the outer ear where the ear does not fully develop. The condition is found in one in every 5,000 births.
For Thornton, his right ear is noticeably smaller than the left. When he was 6 years old, he went through at least four surgeries in which rib cartilage was used to help repair the ear.
Justin Gentry said it was fortunate that his son doesn’t have any long-term side effects or hearing loss from microtia, with the impacts just being cosmetic.
Still, children with microtia might face some ridicule or teasing from others, but Thornton Gentry used humor to deflect anything mistreatment he would get from other kids.
“At first, it really kind of affected me. But I got to the point I am going to live my life with a deficit or take the deficit and run with it,” he said. “Ever since I was a young boy, I have been doing everything to keep moving forward and to prove why I am one of the best.”
The 6-foot-5, 290-pounder became one of the top linemen in South Carolina and one of the best at his position. The 247Sports Composite ranking has Gentry as the 11th best player in the state and 12th-best center in the country.
With Gentry’s size and love to do the dirty work, he is a natural to be an offensive lineman. He was able to learn playing alongside Hank Manos, a former Under Armour All-American who is currently at South Carolina.
Gentry was a mainstay on the Chapin offensive line for the past four years and missed just one game this season despite playing with a fractured fibula. He even got to throw a touchdown pass in the final game of the season against Mid-Carolina.
“It has been great these past four years,” Thornton said. “Ever since our old lineman Hank Manos signed a few years ago, I have been working hard with him and dreaming of this moment right here. It is amazing.
“I love N.C. State and the brotherhood there. They are always doing things together and interlinked. That was their main selling point.”
And as for what kind of player N.C. State is getting, Gentry said the Wolfpack are getting a “beast.”
“They are getting attitude, grit,” he said. “They are getting a beast. I’m ready to get there, tear it up and prove my worth.”
This story was originally published December 16, 2020 at 4:17 PM.
