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ASU making a strong, early impression Dont'e Thornton Jr.

Dont'e Thornton Jr. isn’t the only Arizona State prospect that had to delay a scheduled March 21st visit to the Sun Devils due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, the Top-55 prospect and four-star wide receiver recruit was arguably the highest rated 2021 prospect who was set to check out Tempe this past weekend. The visit may have been rescheduled but that hasn’t dimmed a warm relationship that has already been established between both sides.

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Ironically, Thornton’s exposure to the Sun Devils did begin by watching one of Arizona State’s Pac-12 foes, yet it is a program that also marks the former employer of his current ASU recruiting coach and potential future position coach.

“I’ve known Coach Prentice Gill from the time he recruited me at Oregon,” Thornton said. “I watched Oregon a lot and by watching them I got to see other Pac-12 schools. That’s how I got to learn a lot about Arizona State. He told me that if I came there, I would be an immediate impact on the team. I talked to coach Herm who also told me the same things, and I know that if I put in the work on the field if I go there, I will get the ball. Coach Prentice and I have known each other for a while, and I like his personality because we can talk about way more than just recruiting or sports. We have a really good relationship.

“He told me that they really don’t have a lot of tall receivers on the team and they have an offense that throws the ball a lot. They also have a good quarterback that will get you the ball a lot, so those are some of the (ASU) attractions to me. Another main thing I like about them is the location. I don’t like the cold, so I also like that the school has warm weather, and it’s a big city that has an NFL team in it. There is a lot to do around the campus and you won't get bored there.”

As a junior for the Gaels the wide receiver who played in 11 games made the most of his 38 receptions converting over 42 percent of them for 16 touchdowns and posting 1,021 receiving yards averaging just under 27 yards a catch.

“I’m a tall receiver that plays with a lot of speed,” Thornton commented. “So, I can play all around the field. My fastest 40-time is a 4.49 (hand-held). I try to model my game after Julio Jones.”

With over 30 scholarship offers to his name, Thornton naturally has to thoroughly sort out which schools he plans to visit over others, and Arizona State thus far has stood out to him as a program he felt that he certainly wanted to learn more about in-person.

“Watching all their games on TV, I knew I wanted to see the campus for myself,” Thornton noted. “I did my research and saw how many coaches they have that have played in the NFL. So, that’s a lot of people with that type of experience that have been around the league.”

While prospects such as Thornton can easily be bogged down by the enormous level of attention he has been receiving for several months now, the wide receiver stated that he’s simply “going with the flow” and enjoying the recruiting process even though now he as all other prospects have been forced to visit fewer schools with a recruiting calendar that may be altered significantly.

“Penn State, Oregon, Arizona State, Tennessee, Maryland,” Thornton said, “are all schools that are recruiting me hard right now. West Virginia, Virginia, Notre Dame too. I wanted to take a lot of visits in the upcoming weeks but now I won’t get to see a lot of the schools with everything pushed back and football starting up again in a few months. It’s going to make it difficult to see all the schools I want to visit.

“I talked to Arizona State and we’re planning a visit for the summer.”

January 9th 2021 is the target date announcement date for Thornton who that day will play in the Army All-American game and most likely will sign in the December signing period.

“When I choose a school, I’m going to see the type of offense they run,” Thornton remarked. “I’m going to look at the relationships between the players and the coaches. I want to major in Sports Management so I’m going to look at the type of classes the school offers.”

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