'Mindset' is the biggest difference for Dont'e Thornton entering Year 2 at Tennessee
Dont’e Thornton’s biggest highlight last season was the last one he made. The Tennessee Football transfer receiver slid in the end zone at Missouri in November, hauling in a 46-yard touchdown pass from Joe Milton III to give the Vols a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter.
But Thornton suffered a season-ending lower-leg injury while sliding to make the touchdown catch. He finished his first season at Tennessee, after transferring from Oregon, with 13 catches for 224 yards and a touchdown.
Thornton came on strong before the injury, though. In his final three games — including a little more than one quarter at Missouri — Thornton caught six passes for 135 yards and the touchdown.
That’s where he’s trying to pick up to start Year 2 with the Vols. Tennessee wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope has seen a difference during the offseason and into fall camp.
“As transparent as I can be, I think mindset,” Pope said last week when asked about Thornton’s progress.
Kelsey Pope on Dont’e Thornton last season: ‘He put pressure on himself a lot’
The mental part of the game slowed Thornton down a year ago.
“I think when he got here, there’s a ton of nervousness, there’s a ton of anxiety,” Pope said. “He put pressure on himself a lot. I think the biggest thing that kid has done this offseason, he’s just allowed himself to work as hard as he can and let the chips fall where they may.
“And a lot of times when you do that as an athlete, you make more plays because you’re a lot looser when you’re playing. You’re not so wound up and tightened up and put pressure on himself.”
Thornton, a Baltimore, Maryland, native, caught 26 passes for 541 yards and three touchdowns in 15 games in two seasons at Oregon before transferring to Tennessee. He had 17 catches for 366 yards and a touchdown in 11 games with the Ducks in 2022.
Season Opener: No. 15 Tennessee vs. Chattanooga, August 31, 12:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network
He was a four-star prospect in the 2021 recruiting class when he signed with Oregon, ranked No. 140 overall and No. 22 at wide receiver in the On3 Ratings. He was the No. 5 overall player and the No. 3 wide receiver in the NCAA Transfer Portal rankings when he signed with Tennessee.
The pressure Thornton put on himself to make an immediate impact with the Vols is what hurt him the most early last season, according to Pope.
“These guys read things and they come in with their own expectations,” he said, “and naturally they put a lot of pressure on themselves. So I think when Dont’e came in, it was pressure on himself to kind of go make plays and prove people wrong.
“And I talked to him a lot this offseason about proving himself right. And I think naturally you get a calmness about that when you just make it about you.”
Those talks, and that mindset, have helped produce a new-look Dont’e Thornton in Year 2.
“He has come a a very long way as far as his mental makeup,” Pope said. “He’s built a lot of confidence and it’s because of a lot of work that he’s done this offseason to gain the confidence. Dont’e is in a good spot.”
