Dont’e Thornton Jr., one of the top wide receivers in the 2021 class, announced over Twitter on Thursday that he decommitted from Penn State.
Thornton initially committed to the program in February of his sophomore year.
In the tweet, the 6-foot-4 receiver said he will “explore and weigh” all his options.
It’s possible more schools have been reaching out Thornton. As a sophomore, he had 40 receptions for 860 yards and 10 touchdowns for the 10-2 Mount St. Joseph (Baltimore, Md.) football team.
He has had a strong spring, according to different 247Sports reports. After The Opening’s Northeast regional camp, Director of Player Personnel Ronny Torres told 247 that Thornton “probably put together the most complete day.”
At Oregon’s Saturday Night Live, 247Sports wrote that Thornton provided a challenge for defensive backs including Mater Dei (Santa Ana, California) rising sophomore cornerback Domani Jackson.
He is ranked on the 247Sports composite as the No. 4 wide receiver, No. 2 player in Maryland and No. 38 player in the 2021 class.
With the added attention, Thornton is likely expanding his line of vision — but that’s not to say he’s not longer considering Penn State.
“Penn State will always stay in the picture but I just wanna make sure that I make the right decision for myself and my family,” he included in the tweet.
The Nittany Lions did have some good news this week, though.
Penn State has added two pass catchers over the last two days. On Wednesday, four-star tight end Nick Elksnis of Episcopal (Jacksonville, Fla.) committed to the program.
Elksnis is listed at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds and is ranked as the No. 9 tight end in the 2021 class on the 247Sports Composite Rankings.
Then, Thursday morning, wide receiver Malick Meiga of Cegep du Vieux (Montreal) committed to Penn State.
Meiga is a three-star, 6-foot-3, 188-pound wide receiver.
