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Former Oregon WR Dont'e Thornton commits to Tennessee

Hayes Fawcett updated head shotby:Hayes Fawcett•01/09/23•

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Oregon v Oregon State
CORVALLIS, OR - NOVEMBER 26: Wide receiver Dont'e Thornton #2 of the Oregon Ducks reacts during the first half of the game against the Oregon State Beavers at Reser Stadium on November 26, 2022 in Corvallis, Oregon. (Photo by Ali Gradischer/Getty Images)

Former Oregon wide receiver Dont’e Thornton of Baltimore (MD) announced his commitment to Tennessee Monday afternoon.

The 6-foot-4, 205 pounder was ranked as a top 75 recruit in the 2021 class.

Thornton on why he chose Tennessee

“What stood out to me the most about Tennessee leading up to my commitment was the relationship that I built with coach Pope over the time that I was in the portal.”

Transfer portal background information

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.