Offensive Lineman Joe Thuney Set to Be Inducted into NC State Football’s Ring of Honor

It was announced this week that former All-American offensive lineman Joe Thuney will be inducted into NC State Football’s Ring of Honor.

Thuney becomes the 14th member of the prestigious group.

NC State’s Ring of Honor

RB Dick Christy
QB Roman Gabriel
DE Dennis Byrd
OG Bill Yoest
RB Ted Brown
C Jim Ritcher
WR Torry Holt
QB Philip Rivers
DE Mario Williams
QB Russell Wilson
DE Bradley Chubb
HC Bill Cowher
LB Payton Wilson
OT Joe Thuney

In 2015, Thuney earned First-Team All-American honors from USA Today, becoming the first NC State offensive lineman to achieve that distinction since 1979. He also earned First-Team All-ACC honors that season.

In 589 snaps, Thuney didn’t allow a single sack,

The Dayton, Ohio native is a perfect example of NC State’s player development. Coming out of high school, 247Sports rated him as a 2-star prospect in the 2011 class, ranking him No. 122 nationally at offensive tackle and No. 75 overall in Ohio.

Safe to say… he outplayed those rankings.

Thuney was selected in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft (No. 78 overall) by the New England Patriots. He earned a starting role as a rookie and has never let go of it, starting all 186 games of his career at New England, Kansas City and Chicago.

Now with the Chicago Bears, Thuney continues to build a resume that is headed toward the NFL Hall of Fame.

This past season, he was named the inaugural NFL Protector of the Year, which is awarded to the league’s top offensive lineman.

Career Highlights

• 4x Super Bowl Champion
• NFL Protector of the Year (2025)
•  3x 1st Team All-Pro
• 2x 2nd Team All-Pro
• 4x Pro Bowl

NC State head coach Dave Doeren had high praise for Thuney’s induction:

“Joe was the true definition of a team player during his time at NC State,” said Doeren. “He was willing to start wherever he was needed and he excelled at each position. He established a standard on the Wolfpack offensive line that players for the last decade have worked to live up to, which is one reason we’ve had two offensive linemen drafted in the first-round since then and have six on NFL rosters today. He worked just as hard in the classroom as he did on the field and truly deserves to have his name enshrined among other NC State stars.” (GP)

Thuney will enter his second season with Chicago this fall, continuing a career that has far exceeded every expectation placed on him coming out of high school.