CHARLOTTE — When you're a rookie and a chance comes your way, you have to grab it with both hands.

And if you happen to catch it in mid-air and slam it to the ground, that's not a bad choice either.

Rookie cornerback Corey Thornton made the most of his moment Friday night, starting for an injured Jaycee Horn and building on a solid training camp.

But mostly, he got everyone's attention by making Browns receiver Kaden Davis pay for a bad attempt at hurdling him, catching him, and dropping him like he was a bad habit (while correctly staying in his spot to cover the reverse).

"Fired the hell up. I mean, Corey's a baller, man," rookie outside linebacker Nic Scourton said, when asked about the play. "I love Corey, man, humble dude, plays his butt off. I mean, I was excited for an undrafted guy to kind of have the camp that he's having.

"I mean, Corey's been like this since OTAs."

Scourton used some choice words to describe Thornton's attitude, saying he didn't even like letting people catch passes on him in walk-throughs.

"That's just Corey," Scourton said. "And I mean, he's just a competitor, and I love that from him."

The undrafted rookie from Louisville has earned a number of fans, many of whom saw him for the first time Friday night. But he's remained soft-spoken, even as teammates hyped up his highlight-reel tackle.

When asked about the play, he calmly recited the defense they were in, and why they were where they were, and the moment of impact.

"He tried to come to me, he didn't know what to do," Thornton said. "So he kind of jumped in the air, and I kind of caught and slammed him, yeah."

Asked if it was something he picked up from watching wrestling, and he laughed.

"That's me," he replied.

And that understated manner is part of the reason he's growing on a number of people.

"I love seeing Corey Thornton show up," Panthers head coach Dave Canales said. "It's probably one of my favorite things about being in the NFL, that there are guys who may not show up in practice but all of a sudden make plays in games, and there are guys who are making plays in practice and they kind of disappear."

But Thornton's done anything but, and that's what Canales is noticing.

"He puts himself in good position," Canales said. "Whether it's a tackle or whether it's making a play on the ball. (Jonathan) Cooley's done a great job teaching him technique, footwork, and all that. He's taking the coaching, he's a natural football player, and then he shows up physical in those moments, so that was really exciting to see."

If they're excited, he's staying pretty low-key, which is a good thing for an undrafted rookie to be.

He said he thought his debut in Bank of America Stadium "went pretty smooth," and was primarily concerned with earning the trust of his teammates.

"A couple things I've got to clean up, get better at, but just keep on," he said. "I've just got to keep on going. I know what the standard is set at practice, so just hold me to it, just keep on going."

Between learning from Horn and Mike Jackson, he said that watching guys like Chuba Hubbard take care of their bodies through meticulous preparation has been good for him in his first camp.

And that approach is endearing him to a lot of people, especially when it came with a Wrestlemania move that will be remembered for some time.

"It was a good hit," safety Demani Richardson said with the nod of respect, when asked why Davis tried to hurdle Thornton. "I don't know why he was tripping. But it was a good hit."

And in the fraternity of undrafted rookies who have to take the hard road to make a roster, Richardson also recognized the little things Thornton's been doing.

"He's a pro, he's the ultimate pro," Richardson said. "Like he stays in building late. He tries to learn everything he can. He does everything he can, and like his techniques, he's been doing a good job asking Jaycee and Mike, asking them questions, and they've been helping him. He's learning from them. He got good technique, just needs to keep doing what he's doing."