{"id":181956,"date":"2023-01-09T21:36:03","date_gmt":"2023-01-09T21:36:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/transfer-wide-receiver-commits-to-tennessee\/"},"modified":"2023-01-09T21:36:03","modified_gmt":"2023-01-09T21:36:03","slug":"transfer-wide-receiver-commits-to-tennessee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/transfer-wide-receiver-commits-to-tennessee\/","title":{"rendered":"Transfer wide receiver commits to Tennessee"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Oregon transfer wide receiver Dont’e Thornton<\/b> committed to Tennessee on Monday afternoon, he announced publicly on social media coming off his official visit with the Vols this past weekend.<\/p>\n

Tennessee left quite the impression on Thornton who also took visits to Miami, Auburn and Arkansas while in the transfer portal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like it was the best fit for me overall,\u201d Thornton told GoVols247 about his decision. \u201cJust the fact that they’re a heavy pass offense and they have a great quarterback with a strong arm. I know that as long as I go out there and play football within the scheme and offense that they have, I’m going to be good.\u201d<\/p>\n

A former top-100 prospect coming out of Mount Saint Joseph High School in Baltimore, Thornton has three years to play his two remaining seasons of eligibility. He’s expected to enroll at the school of his choice this month.<\/p>\n

Thornton is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 49 overall transfer and No. 10 transfer wide receiver for the 2023 cycle.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey’re on the track of going to the National Championship and I feel like I can help that,\u201d Thornton said. \u201cMy goal is to be the best receiver I can be, but my goal is also to win the Biletnikoff.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m excited to play in the SEC because it’s like the big league for college football. Every week is going to be good competition and if I can play good here, I can definitely go to the league.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tennessee wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope<\/b><\/b> played a key role in helping the Vols land Thornton, who took note of Biletnikoff Award winner Jalin Hyatt’s comments about Pope throughout the season. It doesn’t hurt how much Josh Heupel’s offense throws the football as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing in an offense that is going to pass the ball a lot and be efficient passing the ball, and then, two, being in a receivers room with a receivers coach that is going to help all of those guys develop like Jalin Hyatt<\/b><\/b>,\u201d Thornton explained. \u201cIf you watch any of his interviews, he praises Coach Pope very highly, so knowing that not only his receivers feel like that, his other coaches feel like that, I feel like I’m in a great situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thornton could tell instantly that Hyatt’s comments about Pope throughout the season were genuine and not lip-service.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s a stand up guy,\u201d Thornton said of Pope. \u201cHow he grew up and how I grew up is somewhat the same even though we come from different backgrounds. I could instantly see exactly where Jalin (Hyatt) was coming from when he talked about Pope. He’s going to help me a lot and be the determining factor of how I perform.\u201d<\/p>\n

This season, Thornton caught 17 passes for 366 yards and a touchdown in 11 games. He finished the year as the Ducks ‘fifth-leading receiver, but he averaged a team-best 21.5 yards per catch, and his longest reception went for 58 yards.<\/p>\n

While his production was inconsistent the season, he started to become more involved in Oregon’s offense later in the season. Nine of his catches this season came in his last four games, including a four-catch, 151-yard performance in the Ducks ’20-17 win Nov. 19 against Utah.<\/p>\n

As a true freshman, Thornton appeared in all 14 of Oregon’s games in 2021, making two starts and catching nine passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns. He had four catches for 90 yards and a touchdown in the Ducks’ 47-32 loss to Oklahoma in the 2021 Alamo Bowl.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that I’m a big and fast receiver that is going to be a matchup problem,\u201d Thornton said when asked what Tennessee likes about his game. \u201cInside and outside. Very versatile. They like me to be able to play inside and outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thornton, who’s rated a four-star transfer by 247Sports, started last week’s five-day visit window for transfers by traveling to Arkansas on Wednesday for an official visit with the Razorbacks. He returned home before traveling to Tennessee on Friday. He visited Auburn and Miami last month.<\/p>\n

Tennessee has now added five transfers so far this offseason. It also added BYU linebacker Keenan Battery<\/b>Texas offensive lineman Adrej Karic, Indiana kicker Charles Campbell<\/b> and UC Davis tight end McCallan Castles<\/b>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n