National recruiting director expecting a 'monster season' from Tennessee Vols newcomer in 2023
The Tennessee Vols lost a significant amount of talent this offseason from their 11-2 2022 squad. Tennessee didn't lose any key players to the transfer portal (outside of backup quarterback Tayven Jackson, a talented player who transferred to Indiana), but they lost numerous players to the 2023 NFL Draft. Hendon Hooker, Jalin Hyatt, Cedric Tillman, […]
The Tennessee Vols lost a significant amount of talent this offseason from their 11-2 2022 squad.
Tennessee didn't lose any key players to the transfer portal (outside of backup quarterback Tayven Jackson, a talented player who transferred to Indiana), but they lost numerous players to the 2023 NFL Draft.
Hendon Hooker, Jalin Hyatt, Cedric Tillman, Darnell Wright, Princeton Fant, Jerome Carvin, Byron Young, and Jeremy Banks are all key players from Tennessee's 2022 team that are hoping to hear their names called in the draft later this week.
The good news for the Vols is that there are plenty of talented players at UT to replace the outgoing talent.
One of those players is wide receiver Dont'e Thornton, a Maryland native who transferred to Tennessee from Oregon earlier this offseason.
Thornton is a 6-foot-5 wide receiver who can line up at any of the wide receiver spots. He can play in the slot or he can be flexed out wide. Thornton gives the Vols plenty of ways to create mismatches, which makes him a perfect fit in Josh Heupel's up-tempo offense.
On3 director of recruiting Shannon Terry said on Monday that he's excited to watch Thornton this season and he thinks the former Ducks wide receiver will have a "monster season" for Tennessee in 2023.
Terry isn't the only one that's excited about Thornton. Earlier this offseason, Heupel told reporters that he's excited about what Thornton brings to the table.
"He's long, he's got great speed, he's got experience, he's mature and he's got great work habits," said Heupel in late March when asked about Thornton. "He's a guy that is constantly up here in the meeting room, but also doing things in the indoor (facility) and trying to become the best he can be. He's got some position flexibility, can play inside, can play outside. How quickly he grasps what we do offensively is going to be one of the keys for him as we go through the spring. I'm really excited about who he is and what he's brought to the table so far."
Tennessee essentially has four starting wide receivers entering the 2023 season. In addition to Thornton, the Vols will also feature Bru McCoy, Squirrel White, and Ramel Keyton.
Heupel typically uses the same three wide receivers throughout the course of a game (unless it's a blowout). It'll be interesting to see how the rotation shakes out this fall, but I imagine Thornton is going to be a major part of what the Vols do offensively in 2023.
