Texas Football: 3 upperclassmen standing out in spring ball
Ray Thornton, LB
Maybe the most impactful help that the Longhorns got out of the transfer portal so far this offseason will shore up the depth at the linebacker position. Specifically, Texas can reap the rewards of hitting the transfer portal to get the former LSU Tigers and 2019 National Champion Ray Thornton to plug up a depth need this year.
Head coach Ed Orgeron and the Tigers are about to undergo a plethora of losses on the defensive side of the ball for the second straight year. It just so happened that Sark and the Longhorns were able to take advantage of some of the losses that LSU experienced of late on this side of the ball.
Thornton is part of a haul of linebackers/edge rushers that Texas has supposedly out of the transfer portal so far this offseason that also includes former Alabama linebacker Ben Davis and former Notre Dame edge rusher Ovie Oghoufo. Since Texas already lost junior linebackers Ayodele Adeoye and Juwan Mitchell to the transfer portal this offseason, getting this trio of additions is big.
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What Thornton brings with him to the Forty Acres is 45 career combined tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, one pass breakup, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. He’s going to be one of the more proven and experienced linebackers in the mix for Texas this offseason. And it appears that Thornton is making a very positive impact for the linebackers by all accounts in spring drills.