Dont’e Thornton spoke at length about how other teams tried to persuade him against picking Tennessee during the recruiting process. Rocky Top Insider’s Ryan Schumpert reported on what was said.

Thornton joined the Vols as a transfer from Oregon. He revealed that one of the ways teams tried to convince him from heading to Knoxville was by arguing that Tennessee’s offense didn’t translate well to the NFL.

“Oh yeah, I’d definitely say teams did try to downplay it,” Thornton said of Tennessee’s offensive success “Saying it doesn’t translate to the NFL style, but if you can get open you can do that in the college level and in the NFL level.”

Despite what those teams said, Thornton stated that one of the main reasons he came to Tennessee was because of Jalin Hyatt’s success. Hyatt excelled last season and took home the Biletnikoff.

“I’d say it was a part because you see how he performed in the offense and with me coming in, they looked at me as a person that could come in in that same role,” Thornton said of Hyatt’s success. “So that had a big part in me coming here.”

Vols fans will be hoping to see something similar in Thornton’s first year on Rocky Top.