Dont'e Thornton has been committed to Penn State for almost five months, but that didn’t stop him from visiting Tennessee for the first time Friday after he received a scholarship offer from the Vols in April. He’s already planning to make the trip again. The four-star Class of 2021 wide receiver from Mount Saint Joseph High School in Baltimore said Tennessee made a strong first impression on him Friday and Saturday during his visit with the Vols, and he’s intrigued by them despite his commitment to the Nittany Lions.
“I liked it a lot. It was good as a whole, overall,” said Thornton, who’s ranked the No. 41 overall prospect and No. 6 wide receiver in the industry-generated 247Sports Composite for the 2021 class. “The facilities, how big they were and the way they looked, that surprised me.”
The 6-foot-4.5, 185-pound Thornton said he “was coming down to see how it was” after learning of his offer from Tennessee almost two months ago. He said Joe Osovet, the Vols’ director of programming for football, has been in contact with him over the past couple of months and made it clear they’re high on him. “He said they’re very interested in me,” Thornton said of Osovet. “I’m one of the top receivers they’re recruiting in my class, and they want me there.”
His trip to Knoxville this weekend, which primarily allowed him to attend Tennessee’s “Rocky Top Cookout” on Friday evening, gave Tennessee head coach
Jeremy Pruitt and wide receivers coach
Tee Martin a chance to tell him the same thing. “(Martin) said that I’m a very good player. He said I’m very talented and they’d love to have me play here,” Thornton said. “I talked to Coach Pruitt (on Friday), too. Mostly everybody was saying the same thing — that they really like my skill set and they’d love to have me here. “They let me know that they’re in the rebuilding stage, but by the time I get here, it’ll be better.”
Thornton said he spent time with Osovet, “a few other recruits and some other coaches,” along with Vols senior wide receiver
Marquez Callaway, in the hours leading up to Friday’s cookout. The laid-back environment of the cookout gave Thornton a chance to get to know some of the other Tennessee targets in attendance, along with members of the Vols’ staff. “It was fun,” he said. “I met a lot of people that I never knew before from different places, so it was cool. It was a mix. I was with some players and some coaches. There were some games. … Then, we went on a little scavenger hunt.”
After seeing for himself what Tennessee has to offer, he said he’s intrigued by the Vols for multiple reasons. He admitted the opportunity to play in the SEC is one of them. “Being in the SEC, that’s one of the main things,” Thornton said.
He said West Virginia is the only other school he has visited since announcing his commitment to Penn State. But he’s still exploring other options despite his commitment, and he said he now expects to return to Tennessee in the coming months.
“I sure will be back,” Thornton said. “We will be coming back down for a game, or probably next month for one of the practices.” Thornton said he doesn’t have any other trips planned “right now.” But he expects to continue taking visits, and he said he’s “keeping an open mind” about the other schools pursuing him. “Me looking at the verbal commitment, I’m just letting it be known that I really can see myself being there,” he said of Penn State. “But I’m just keeping my options open and seeing what other coaches have to offer, too.”