Austin Price: Hello, everybody, and welcome in for another episode of Vol Club Confidential. I'm your host Austin Price of volquest.com. The SEC basketball tournament is wrapping up, and we're off to the NCAA Tournament now as Tennessee gets set for, hopefully, a March run. Tennessee baseball is in full swing. That home stand continues to roll on as Tennessee's had a ton of success and gets ready for its first SEC series, that being against Missouri this weekend. Let's bring in Sheridan Gannon of the Volunteer Club. Sheridan, you guys have had these cool, really neat events for Vol Club members. Starting at Kenny Clayton's house a couple of weeks ago, just take me through the reception there and how much fun it has been to build a community. Sheridan Gannon: Yeah, absolutely. So Kenny is one of our more dedicated Vol Club members. He has been incredible. He advocates for us on his personal social media, so he took it upon himself to create a watch party for the Tennessee/Auburn game, so last game of the regular season. He pulled out all the works for his house. He has a pizza oven, he has a- Austin Price: I saw that. Sheridan Gannon: ... a smoker. He has it all. He had a bounce house for the kids. So Kenny and his family did the whole thing. They made the menu, they provided everything for us. And we really just helped spread the word and get some Vol Club members there. Austin Price: As we head into the NCAA Tournament, I know you guys are working on getting a location to have a Vol Club get together at the site, take Vol Club members through that, and then working, they find out exactly where you all will be at the NCAA Tournament. Sheridan Gannon: Yeah, absolutely. We're hoping to do something similar to what we did for the SEC Tournament, for the NCAA tournament. So what we'll do is we'll identify, probably, a local hotel bar or something along those lines, local restaurant in the area that we will then deem the Vol Club hotspot, where we're going to invite all of our members to. So we will send that out through email, through our newsletters, and then, of course, push on social as well. So definitely follow along if you want to know where that is. Austin Price: All right. I'm glad we finally got Sheridan on the show. We bumped James out of here, and we may never let Hunter come back. All right. All jokes aside, let's move on to our marquee edition for the show this week. And that's Dont'e Thornton, Tennessee transfer wide receiver. What's up, man? Dont'e Thornton: How are you doing? Austin Price: Good, and you? Dont'e Thornton: Good. Austin Price: Dont'e, you start your career at Oregon, you play a couple of seasons there, and then you just had to go on the transfer portal. Take me through that decision, because you'd had some success there, but what made you want to look around? Dont'e Thornton: I say what made me want to look around, I felt like my talent was put on the shelf. I want to say my first year was a learning year. Then I'd say, coming back for my second year, I felt like my role would've been bigger than what it was. And as you can see, it might have panned out towards the end of the season, but once I got to that point towards the end of the season, I felt like it was already time for me to... I was going to hit the portal, and then find a new home. Austin Price: So what made Tennessee the right fit for you? Dont'e Thornton: Looking back at the season, you see they had the number one offense, especially with the passion. So I felt like coming into a offense while they established themselves, with throwing the ball a lot, with having a quarterback that's coming back and he knows the whole offense, it was the best spot for me. Austin Price: You get in here, and you're going through these workouts and doing all these player driven things, and you're catching balls from Joe, catching balls from Nico. Take me through what you've seen thus far. Just getting to dabble a little bit with it. Dont'e Thornton: I'd definitely say Joe has the strongest arm I've seen by any quarterback that I've played with. Austin Price: Yeah. Dont'e Thornton: And then Nico was a up and coming younger Joe, because he had a strong arm too. So I feel like they're both two great quarterbacks. Austin Price: Bru had obviously done a little bit of USC, but then had a really nice first year here. How much have you talked to him about adapting from the Pac-12 to the SEC? Dont'e Thornton: So I actually talked to Bru a lot when I first got here. We have our, I guess you could say, big brother groups. And I was paired with Bru when I first got here, so me and Bru always talked a lot about the transition of how things felt for me coming from Oregon and then being here, and then also his transition from coming from USC to come here. Austin Price: How has the transition been thus far? Dont'e Thornton: I say it is a great transition. I feel like I mesh with the team very well. So it's been good for me. Austin Price: Who have you really jived with? Who have you gelled with since you got to campus? Dont'e Thornton: I'd say the people I be with the most. Omarr Norman-Lott, and then John Campbell. Yeah, I'd say they're the closest people I'm with, and then, of course, Joe. Austin Price: All three transfers. Dont'e Thornton: Exactly. Austin Price: Yeah. What do you like about those two guys? Dont'e Thornton: Oh, it's just like we instantly clicked. I don't know what it really was. With Omarr, we both wanted to visit at same time. Austin Price: Sure. Dont'e Thornton: So we started our relationship then. And then with John, we instantly clicked. We started playing a game. Once I committed and he announced that he was coming here, we started to grow our relationship before we got here. And then once we got here, it stayed the same. Austin Price: Let's go back to when you were a child. Can I take me through Tennessee fans? What was your childhood like? What did you enjoy doing when you were a kid? Were you spending time with your mom, your grandma, your dad, your grandfather? Who did you grow up hanging out with? Dont'e Thornton: Growing up, I'm very family oriented, so I say I grew up around my mom's side of the family. Like me and my brothers, I got two brothers and two sisters, but I live with one of my younger brothers and my two younger sisters. And then I have a lot of cousins. So we'd always go up to my grandmother's house and go to church, and then on the weekends, we'd be over there. So I guess I'd say I'd be around my family, my mother's side the most. Yeah, definitely my mother's side. Austin Price: Everybody knows I'm a sucker for grandma's, especially grandma's cooking. Dont'e Thornton: Exactly. Austin Price: Favorite meal that she made? If you went back home right now and said, "Hey, make my go-to," what is that? Dont'e Thornton: I'm going to get fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, greens, and then banana pudding. Austin Price: Oh, boy. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Austin Price: You fit in right down here, and you might end up with some extended grandmas. Dont'e Thornton: Nah, I wish. I hope so. I need all the food I can get. Austin Price: Kind of take me through, when did you realize college football, and potentially, and I know you hope pro football was going to be a realistic option? Do you remember a point in time where you were like, "I'd actually like to play in college"? Dont'e Thornton: I'd say when I started getting a lot of offers, I'd say that's when I felt like going to college and playing there at a high level would really be a big option for me. Austin Price: What do you feel like you do well? If people that haven't watched your film, haven't watched an Oregon game, haven't watched your huddle from high school, how would you describe your game? Dont'e Thornton: I'd say I do very well with stretching the field, and then man in that matchup problem, where I could play at any wide receiver position on the field if that was slot or outside receiver. So I mix. I feel like that makes it hard for people to guard me. Austin Price: You were a taller slot. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Austin Price: Is that where you feel like the mismatch comes from? Because I mean, you've got speed, obviously, but I mean, Jalen was six foot, six foot and a half and you're, what, 6'4? Dont'e Thornton: 6'5, actually. Austin Price: 6'5? Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. I'd definitely say the mismatch comes over my height, and then being able to move with that same speed as a short person. Austin Price: The slot, it really pays dividends in this offense. Dont'e Thornton: Yes. Austin Price: When you watch film, as you head into spring practice next week, does it get you excited to see where this goes? Dont'e Thornton: Oh, yeah, it really does get me excited. Since when I first got down here, every day, I was watching different games to see how I would look in the offense. And I'd just look at like, I know for sure that I could be out there doing that. Austin Price: Did you just watch the Alabama game on Loop? Dont'e Thornton: Oh. Oh, man, I watched that game, and then the Pitt game, I watched that a lot too. Austin Price: Pitt game? Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Austin Price: For you, you like the red zone stuff to use your height? I mean, you feel like jump balls, is that a thing for you? Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. I'd definitely say that jump balls... Personally, yeah, I'd say jump balls, but if you could see it from my past two years playing, most of my plays come from one of the deep routes, like deep post and go balls. So I'd say basically attacking deep downfield. Austin Price: Maryland got growing up, Ravens guy? Dont'e Thornton: Yeah, growing up, I was a Ravens guy. I don't have a favorite team now. Austin Price: No favorite team now? Dont'e Thornton: No. Austin Price: So if you're telling me if the Ravens drafted you, you it wouldn't be a little special? Dont'e Thornton: It would feel special, because that's the home team. Austin Price: Sure it would. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Austin Price: What players did you grow up wanting to emulate? Was it just straight receivers, or did you just enjoy watching football? Dont'e Thornton: No, I'd say it was definitely more so receivers, and I'd say the first dude I always looked up to was Megatron. Calvin Johnson. Austin Price: Yeah, Johnson. Dont'e Thornton: Of course, a lot of big receivers look up to him, because he is one of the greatest to do it. And then as the years went on, I'd say Julio Jones. I'd say I emulated my game after him a lot through the years of me playing. Austin Price: How much do you watch this film of those top players, like the straight Julio clips straight- Dont'e Thornton: I say I definitely watch it a lot, especially when it gets to end season and stuff like that. I watch everything that I see myself doing, I watch it and see how they do it, so I can perfect it in myself. Austin Price: Favorite routes, what? Dont'e Thornton: Big post. Austin Price: So you like going up top? Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Austin Price: Take the top off. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Austin Price: Most underrated route is what? Dont'e Thornton: Screen. Austin Price: Got to have people that block though. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Austin Price: Although, Bru is a big guy, he can block. Dont'e Thornton: Exactly. All I need is like one block. Austin Price: Did you tell Bru you need him to block for you? Dont'e Thornton: I tell him every time I need one. Austin Price: I'm sure he wants you to block for him. Dont'e Thornton: Oh, yeah. I like blocking. I ain't going to say... I like blocking. I had to do it so much at Oregon, so it became something that I had become used to doing. Austin Price: Sure. Dont'e Thornton: So I don't have a problem with blocking at all. Austin Price: Best thing about Oregon is what? As far as the topography, the area, all that, what did you enjoy about being out there in the Pacific Northwest? Dont'e Thornton: How nice it looked. It was very green. Austin Price: Sure. Dont'e Thornton: So I guess you'd say the nature part of it was the best part about it. I just didn't like how much it rained. Austin Price: Yeah. Dont'e Thornton: I'm not going to lie, I don't like that. Austin Price: What have you learned to like about Knoxville in your two months here? Dont'e Thornton: The food. Austin Price: The food? Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Austin Price: Where at? Dont'e Thornton: It's a lot. Just in general. It's way more food options here than it was in Oregon. So it gives me a more of a variety. Austin Price: What's your go-to though? Dont'e Thornton: Right now, I see my go-to is Cook Out. Yeah, I go to Cook Out a lot. Austin Price: A fast food place can't be your go-to. Dont'e Thornton: Sorry, it is though. Sad to say it. Austin Price: I meant more local places. Dont'e Thornton: Oh, no. I haven't- Austin Price: Have you found local places? Dont'e Thornton: I haven't really found too many local places yet. Austin Price: Oh, we got to get you out there then. Dont'e Thornton: Definitely. Austin Price: I'm surprised Omarr Norman-Lott's not got you on that. He just seems like he's ready to eat at all times. Dont'e Thornton: Hey, man, I'm a fast food. I need my food right away. Austin Price: What's your goal this spring? What's realistic? I mean, Coach Heupel's going to sit there, and nobody's locking down the starting spot in the spring, we're competing, blah blah blah. But for you, what do you want to accomplish over those 15 practices? Dont'e Thornton: I'd say try to be a hundred percent confident in my plan with any position on the field with receiver, with that being slot or outside receiver. Austin Price: What receivers have impressed you to this point since you've gotten here? Dont'e Thornton: The number one receiver that has impressed me would be Squirrel. Yeah. I'd say Squirrel. On film, he looks fast, but in person, he's even faster. So it was like, I'd definitely say Squirrel has impressed me a lot. Austin Price: Who's winning that race, Dont'e? Dont'e Thornton: Me. I'm going to think myself anytime. Yeah. I wouldn't say he's going to beat me in a race. Austin Price: Longer stride? Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. I'd say it'd be close though. It'll definitely be close, but I'm going to win. Austin Price: When you were a kid, did you go out much, like deep sea fishing up there in Maryland? Dont'e Thornton: No, I didn't. Austin Price: Stayed inland? Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. It was just football. Austin Price: Just football? Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. That's it. Austin Price: No other hobbies? Dont'e Thornton: Playing a video game, playing football. That's it. Austin Price: What video game? Dont'e Thornton: I'm not too big on the sports games, because I'm bad at them. So I play Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto. Austin Price: See, I can appreciate anybody that can admit, "I'm not good at something." Dont'e Thornton: Oh, yeah, I know I ain't good at them sports games. Austin Price: It's like going to the restaurant, you say, "Hey, what's good on the menu?" And they say everything. No, not everything. Dont'e Thornton: Exactly. Austin Price: There's got to be something on here that's not that good. Dont'e Thornton: Right. Austin Price: I appreciate the waiter that says, "Yeah, it's not that good." Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Austin Price: Okay, I appreciate that you can just be honest with that. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Austin Price: So Call of Duty. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto. Yeah, my go-tos. Austin Price: I understand that. I get it. If you play a sports game, what is it you're playing? Dont'e Thornton: If I'm playing by myself, I'm going to play 2K. But if I'm playing against somebody, I'm going to play Madden. Yeah. Austin Price: Yeah. Dont'e Thornton: I'm going to play Madden against everybody. Austin Price: Every kid I have out here, Jordan or LeBron? Dont'e Thornton: See, I'm going to say Kobe. Austin Price: Oh, I'm good with that. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Kobe. Austin Price: Got no problem with that. If you had to pick Jordan or LeBron? Dont'e Thornton: LeBron, because I actually watch him play. Austin Price: Yeah, I understand. It's recency bias. You see him every- Dont'e Thornton: Exactly. Austin Price: Yeah. I get it. Best receiver of all time, is it Jerry Rice, or is there someone else in your mind? Dont'e Thornton: Randy Moss. Austin Price: Best pure talent. Yeah, I'm with you on that. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah, I'm saying Randy Moss. Austin Price: Randy Moss who took a visit to Tennessee. Dont'e Thornton: Hey. Austin Price: Back in the nineties, Peyton Manning hosted him. Dont'e Thornton: See, I would've never knew that. Austin Price: You know what he did on his official visit? Dont'e Thornton: No. Austin Price: He went to the T-Rex and went swimming and started just jumped off the diving board over and over- Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. You wouldn't see me doing that. Austin Price: ... and over again. Dont'e Thornton: No. Austin Price: You're not jumping off the diving board? Dont'e Thornton: No. I'll walk in the short side though. I'm going to jump in though. No, that ain't me. Austin Price: How much have you watched clips at Neyland Stadium and got a feel for the crowd? Is that something that you're most kind of geeked to do this fall? Dont'e Thornton: Yeah, I'd definitely say that's one of the biggest things I'm excited about. Well, one thing that threw me off that I didn't notice at first is if you watch any game, whenever Bru caught a ball, they all yell, "Bru." I want them to do that for me, but say something else like MACC or something like that. Austin Price: Macc? Dont'e Thornton: Yeah, something like that. They need my own thing. So whatever it is, I need them do that. Austin Price: Fans, you've been challenged. You just got to come up with something better than MACC though. What- Dont'e Thornton: What's wrong with MACC though? Austin Price: What is that? Dont'e Thornton: That's my name. Austin Price: Big M-A-C-C? Dont'e Thornton: Where does that come from? High school. Austin Price: What does it stand for though? Dont'e Thornton: It stands for Murder Any Corner or Competition. And then I had number 11 in high school that was attached with it. Austin Price: I told you you need to be number 11 here. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Austin Price: You want number one. A lot of elevens have had success at Tennessee though. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Austin Price: But I know you don't want to do it right off Jalen. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Austin Price: I get it. But Joey Kent, Justin Hunter, several guys have went over a thousand yards in that number 11. Dont'e Thornton: Right. Hey, man. If I can't get one, 11 might be an option, for sure. Austin Price: It'll make you look even taller. Dont'e Thornton: Hey, man. Austin Price: You'd be like 6'9 in the 11. You think people were surprised? Well, you walked through when we did the coordinator's press conference a few weeks ago, and Brent Hubbs goes, "Who is that?" And I said, "It's Dont'e Thornton." And he goes, "Geez, he is big." And I said, "Yeah, I know." I mean, do you think people are surprised at your size? I know you're not. You're you. Dont'e Thornton: I definitely would. I would say that people are surprised by my size when they see me in person. Definitely. Austin Price: When you got on the visit here and you got around Kelsey Pope and Josh Heupel, do you think they were like, "He's a lot bigger than I thought"? Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Coach Heupel said it himself. He said I was way bigger in person then he thought I would've been. Austin Price: Yeah. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah, definitely, I feel like I shock a lot of people when they see me in person. Austin Price: With the NFL Combine going on here recently, how much have you... Have you watched much of that? Dont'e Thornton: Oh, yeah, I watched the whole thing. Yeah. Austin Price: Just the receivers, or just everybody? Dont'e Thornton: All of them. For the first day to the last day. Austin Price: Best part about it is what? Dont'e Thornton: I'd say my opinion, the best part is the forties, just to see how fast everyone is. Austin Price: Sure. Dont'e Thornton: Especially when you look at the receivers. Austin Price: The receivers had a lot of slower times- Dont'e Thornton: Yeah, I know. Austin Price: ... compared to the- Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Austin Price: ... like D lineman? Dont'e Thornton: I saw. Yeah. Austin Price: You think something's funny about that? Have you seen the- Dont'e Thornton: I feel like the time was delayed. Austin Price: Have you seen the pictures on Twitter of Darnell Washington at Georgia? Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Austin Price: And now, he's taller than the guy, even though the guy was listed an inch taller than him? Dont'e Thornton: See, I've seen him in person, so I already know. Austin Price: Darnell's a big dude. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Yeah. Austin Price: Favorite recruit from your recruiting class? Not named Dont'e Thornton, was who? Who did you enjoy watching, seeing, meeting? Dont'e Thornton: Troy Franklin. Austin Price: Wow. Dont'e Thornton: We were roommates at Oregon, and we played the same position. He was a dude that was ranked over me. And of course, being a person who wants to be the best and number one person, when you see someone that's ranked over you, you somewhat have some envy between y'all. So at first, it was like that until I met him. Yeah we had going a great relationship. So I'd say that definitely be him. Yeah, it's going to be a lot of people from Oregon, but I'd say Scoop David. He's a safety at Oregon. Austin Price: By the way, let's go back to this whole MACC thing. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Austin Price: I mean, I think it's just natural, we got to get you an NIL deal with McDonald's. Dont'e Thornton: Exactly. Austin Price: I mean- Dont'e Thornton: I need the Big Mac deal. I was waiting for somebody to say that. I need it. Austin Price: I mean, Big MACC. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Austin Price: I'm still not sure that that's real conducive to chanting at Neyland Stadium. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah, I know. Austin Price: Bru just kind of rolls it, because it sounds like a booing. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah, exactly. But now, back to that, we need the Big Mac deal. We need that. I don't know how long it's going to take, but we need it. Definitely. Austin Price: Is that your go-to hamburger? Dont'e Thornton: At McDonald's, definitely. I stopped eating it, because I was trying to get my body together. But if I went to McDonald's, I'm getting a Big Mac, on a wrap. Austin Price: 6'5, what do you weigh right now? Dont'e Thornton: 205 pounds. Austin Price: What did you weigh when you got here? About the same? Dont'e Thornton: About the same, yeah. Honestly, I put on more muscle than I had before, because I lost weight and regained it. But yeah, I definitely say I'm like the same weight. Austin Price: When you were thinking about where to go, who was it you leaned on for the decision, or was it just you made the decision, that was it? Dont'e Thornton: My family. I'd say my family played a big part in it, because each visit, I took a different member from my family. So as we sat down and talked about it, everybody else had a part that they can put into it, and not just me. Austin Price: Who was for Tennessee? Who visited that weekend that you came here? Dont'e Thornton: Oh, Tennessee was my dad and my youngest brother. Yeah. Austin Price: How old is the youngest brother? Dont'e Thornton: He is 11, I think. Yeah. Austin Price: Is he going to be as good as you? Dont'e Thornton: I hope so. Probably better than me. Yeah, he'll be better. Austin Price: Do you kind of relish the chance to be a big brother? Dont'e Thornton: Oh, yeah. I love being a big brother, because I know for sure that I got a reason to keep going. Austin Price: What's the biggest kind of thing you can teach him at this point, do you think? Just how you treat people? Dont'e Thornton: Yeah, I'd definitely say that. Because no matter what you go through each day, you don't know what else somebody else is going through. So you should always treat people nice, especially if they gave you no reason not to be nice to them. So yeah, I'd definitely say how to treat people. Austin Price: In this league, a lot of cool atmospheres. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Austin Price: Coming up next year, you'll play a game at Alabama, and you'll play a game at Florida. Is that something you look forward to being able to go on? Do you like those road game atmospheres? Dont'e Thornton: I- Austin Price: What was the best place you played in the Pac-12? Dont'e Thornton: The best place I played in... Oh, in the Pac-12s? Austin Price: Yeah. Dont'e Thornton: I'd say the Rose Bowl, but it wasn't packed out, but it was just being in a Rose Bowl, it was a crazy experience. Austin Price: Yeah, UCLA never packs it out. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah, I know. I saw that. Yeah, I'd definitely say UCLA was the best one I've seen. Overall since I've been in college, I'd say Ohio State. My freshman year, we played there. Austin Price: Yeah, the Shoe. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah, it was crazy. Austin Price: How was Oregon State? How was the Civil War? Dont'e Thornton: My first year, we played them home. It was good. Second year, last year, we played them there. It was crazy. They were doing construction in the stadium, so they had outside line blocked off with wooden walls. So all the noise would bounce back to us, so it was extra loud. And they'd always play like a chainsaw there now. It's annoying. Yeah, it's annoying. Austin Price: Well, I'm sure there'll be some stadium that does something annoying here. Especially that guy at Kentucky this year. Every time they get a first down, it's the worst. What did you know about Tennessee coming out of high school? And then when this came about, what did you quickly learn about Tennessee? You know what I mean? What were your notions coming in? Most recruits come in, they think Tennessee's a cow field. They don't think that Knoxville's a city. Then they're blown away that it's actually a city over here and not... You know? Dont'e Thornton: I'd say coming out of high school, Tennessee, they weren't good. Austin Price: Correct. Dont'e Thornton: They were losing. So I was like, "I don't really know too much if I want to be there." But coming out of the portal, you see them as the number one passing offense. So that was very intriguing. Austin Price: What did you learn about Tennessee football when you got here? Dont'e Thornton: I'd say the brotherhood and the family atmosphere that they have here, it's bigger than you would think it would be. You would think it'd be a lot of egos, but it's not. Everybody is all together. Austin Price: So close-knit unit, tight-knit unit, good chemistry. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Austin Price: Do you find that to be more rare than normal? Do you think most schools have good team chemistry, or do you think that that's something that is just kind of part of the culture? Dont'e Thornton: I feel like that's something that has to be developed over time. Especially if, say for example, you go to a team, y'all have a new coaching change, the culture's going to change with that new staff coming in. So I guess you could say that's something that's developed over time with the program. Austin Price: Who's someone that's impressed you inside the football program that's not a receiver and not one of your buddies? You can't name Omarr Norman-Lott or John Campbell. Somebody that in a workout that catches your eye, or at a team activity, or in a team meeting, doesn't care to speak up and talk and gives good ideas. Dont'e Thornton: I'd say Elijah Simmons. D-Line Austin Price: Yeah. Dont'e Thornton: He sing a lot. Austin Price: He sings a lot, yes. Dont'e Thornton: But he knows how to sing though. Austin Price: Yes, he does. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. So I'd say that's... And we're right next to each other, so every morning, he is singing. Austin Price: What's he singing? Do you sing with him? Dont'e Thornton: I try to sing, but he sings so good and mess my singing up, I just listen. And he sings... He be just like randomly singing different lyrics. I don't even know what he's singing though. It sounds good though. Definitely sounds good. He could be like a gospel singer. Austin Price: What kind of music do you like to listen to? Dont'e Thornton: I'd say I listen to a lot of different music. It just depends on my mood. But I actually listen to a lot of like hiphop, rap, R&B music. It all depends. Austin Price: Who's your go-to? Dont'e Thornton: That's another one of those things where it depends on how I feel. I'd say if I'm going to go to rap, I'm going to say YoungBoy, NBA YoungBoy. But if I'm more of like a mellow mood, I'd say Giveon, or some Walker or SZA, something like that. Austin Price: Favorite one of your tattoos? Dont'e Thornton: My favorite tattoo, it's my most recent tattoo. I got a Joker tattoo on my right calf. It says, "Why so serious?" And he's holding up the Joker card in front of his eye. That's my favorite tattoo, because that's the first tattoo I ever wanted, and I just got it, and I have 10 tattoos or something like that. So I'd say that's my favorite one, for sure. Austin Price: That's the one you've always wanted though? Dont'e Thornton: Yeah, I always wanted it. Austin Price: So you like the Joker, or you like Batman? Dont'e Thornton: Joker. Austin Price: Or you like both? Dont'e Thornton: Joker. For sure. Austin Price: I'm a Batman guy. Dont'e Thornton: He ain't got a superpower though. He's regular. Austin Price: That's okay. What superpower does the Joker have? Dont'e Thornton: Hey, we ain't talking about the Joker right now. We're talking about Batman. Batman is regular. Austin Price: Batman, Superman, Spider-Man. If you could pick one, who, and why? Dont'e Thornton: Batman, Superman, Spider-Man. I'd say Spider-Man. Austin Price: You know what, I've asked that question to kids for years doing things for our high school stuff here in town or whatever, and Spider-Man is, by far and away, the one they always pick. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. He shoots webs. Austin Price: But you would think you'd pick Superman, because he's almost basically invincible, outside of- Dont'e Thornton: Kryptonite. Austin Price: ... Kryptonite. But I mean, I'm telling you, man, Spider-Man gets a ton of love. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah, I'd say Spider-Man, for sure. Austin Price: For that very reason, ability to shoot webs? You're a bowler. Dont'e Thornton: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Bowler, that's my thing. That's a hobby right there. Hey, ask Coach Heupel about me in bowling. Austin Price: That's right. You waxed him in bowling- Dont'e Thornton: I did. Austin Price: ... on your official visit. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Yeah. Austin Price: I remember this. We had- Dont'e Thornton: First person to beat him. Austin Price: When we did that whole fireside chat there over there at the hotel- Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Austin Price: ... you were bragging about that. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. He isn't going to ever... Yeah. Austin Price: What's your best score? Dont'e Thornton: Whatever my score was that day was my best score. I don't remember the exact number, but- Austin Price: So you've never bowled better than with Coach Heupel? Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Austin Price: That's when you knew. It wasn't actually when Joe threw that seed to Bru at the Orange Bowl, it was when you beat Coach Heupel in the bowling. Dont'e Thornton: Definitely when I beat Coach Heupel. Austin Price: He said you had to use the bumpers though like little kids do. Dont'e Thornton: No. No. We were on the same line, same lane. No. Austin Price: I'm playing. He didn't say that. Hard shell, or soft shell crabs? Dont'e Thornton: Hard shell? Yeah. Hard shell. Austin Price: Are you a baseball guy? Dont'e Thornton: No, not really. Austin Price: So no Orioles- Dont'e Thornton: But our baseball team is good. Yeah. Austin Price: So no Orioles? Yeah, the baseball team is good here. Dont'e Thornton: I'm too big on baseball. But I heard our baseball team is good here. I would go to a game. Austin Price: What about NBA? I mean, Maryland's kind of that no man's land for NBA teams. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. I'm a Lakers fan. Austin Price: Lakers? That's why you're the Kobe guy. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Austin Price: I understand. I get ya. Most competitive teammate you've found here in Knoxville is who? Dont'e Thornton: Joe. It's Joe, for sure. Austin Price: Give me an example. Dont'e Thornton: I try to race Joe every day, and he's going to.. And Joe is fast. Austin Price: He is deceptively fast. Dont'e Thornton: Joe is fast, yeah. But I'd say yeah, it is definitely Joe. Yeah. Austin Price: Bunch of those young kids came in at midterm. Who's impressed you most out of those? Dont'e Thornton: So I haven't really done much with the younger guys, because they have their own like a separate lift group. Austin Price: Sure. Dont'e Thornton: So I don't know. I guess I'd say Nate Leacock. Austin Price: Yeah, Nate Leacock. Dont'e Thornton: Because he's always trying to get better. I definitely say he's very engaged, going back in extra work and getting catches, watching film, going over plays. So I'd definitely say that's one person. Austin Price: What about the transfers? Dont'e Thornton: You said who I'm impressed with? Austin Price: Yeah. Who's caught your eye? Dont'e Thornton: Omarr. Austin Price: He just seems like he's a guy that has a motor doesn't stop. Dont'e Thornton: He works... He's a work horse. Austin Price: Yeah. Dont'e Thornton: He works out every single day. Austin Price: That's what I was going to say. He's not the biggest guy in the world, but he just seems like he just does not stop. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. The weekends are off days, and he's in there every single day, even Sundays. So yeah, definitely him. Austin Price: What have you learned to about Coach Kelsey Pope? Dont'e Thornton: He cares about his players more than just football. On a personal level, he really cares about his players. Austin Price: What's he taught you thus far? Dont'e Thornton: I'd say something like, most people talk about football, I'd say he taught me from a non-football aspect of life would be like it's okay not to be okay. When you have days or bad days like that, it's okay to feel like that, and that he's always going to be there when you have those days. So I guess he's like that father figure that's like not your actual dad, but he's that figure that you can have. Austin Price: Are you a Big jersey guy? Like different... You're coming from Oregon, so you have 57 different combinations out there. Not as many here, but more than most. So out of Tennessee's jersey's collection? Dont'e Thornton: All black. Austin Price: All black? Dont'e Thornton: For sure. All black. Yeah. Austin Price: So when you took the official visit, that was the uniform you picked out? Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Austin Price: Which is the one you don't like the most? Dont'e Thornton: I'd say the orange. Austin Price: Orange helmets? Dont'e Thornton: Orange jersey. Austin Price: Orange jerseys? The home, the traditionals? Dont'e Thornton: Yeah, it's just... It's too bland. But, of course, you see I just came from Oregon, so it's like it's different. Austin Price: Sure. I get it. Dont'e Thornton: Right. Austin Price: I get it. What's the one thing that you hope fans see this fall from Dont'e Thornton? Dont'e Thornton: That I'm more than just a football player. You'll see I have YouTube channel and stuff like that starting up, so I'm going to have more things going than just football. So that's another way for fans to engage with me off the field and stuff like that. Austin Price: Do you want to be approachable out in public? Dont'e Thornton: Oh, yeah. I definitely want to be approachable. Yeah. I want fans to be able to walk up to me and ask to take a picture, or ask for an autograph, and things like that. I don't want them to feel like they can't say anything like to me in public, because I won't respond to them, I act Hollywood, or anything like that. No, I wouldn't be like that. Austin Price: Oh, don't worry about it. They'll be... You'll be taking plenty of pictures this fall. Dont'e Thornton: Man. Hey, man, I'm here for it. Austin Price: Signing autographs, being a good role model for your younger brother. Dont'e Thornton: Got to be. Austin Price: All right. That's it. Big MACC, Dont'e Thornton. Dont'e Thornton: Yeah. Austin Price: McDonald's needs to get him the NIL deal. Dont'e Thornton: McDonald's, I need it. I'm dead serious. I need that. Austin Price: The sales pitch is on. We got to figure out something for fans to say when you catch the ball, "MACC." I'm not sure that's- Dont'e Thornton: See, you hear that? No, I can't steal that. That's Bru though. Austin Price: Yeah, you got to come up with something else. Dont'e Thornton: I know. We're going to figure that out when that time comes. Austin Price: I don't know. Like a gesture, and they can gesture back. I don't know. Some kind of... We got got to figure that out. Dont'e Thornton: We're going to figure that, for sure. Austin Price: All right. Number one, number 11, or something else. This guy right here is poised to have a huge, huge fall, and it all starts coming up next week with the start of spring practice.