Texas Football: 3 players dazzling ahead of the spring game

Ray Thornton, LB

One of the new additions for the Longhorns program this offseason that the fans on the Forty Acres should be thrilled about having in the mix for this fall is the former LSU Tigers graduate transfer and senior linebacker Ray Thornton. This 6-foot-3 and 225 pound key haul out of the NCAA Transfer Portal was one of multiple additions in the front seven via this path for the Longhorns so far this offseason.

Thornton is part of a group that also includes the former Alabama linebacker and elite five-star recruit Ben Davis and Notre Dame Fighting Irish edge rusher Ovie Oghoufo as the key trio of additions out of the portal this offseason. But Thornton is the one that made the major impact for the Longhorns so far in spring ball.

As the first of the transfer portal additions on campus at the linebacker position, and one of two portal additions in general on campus for spring ball, Thornton was thrown into a bright spotlight right away. He and the former McNeese State cornerback and fellow senior graduate transfer Darion Dunn will play key roles for Texas this fall.

With all of the depth losses that Texas had at the linebacker position entering this offseason, Thornton is likely to hold a starting role right away. And he’s got some proven game experience under his belt to help him with this transition.

In just over 20 games played over the course of bits and pieces of four seasons with LSU, Thornton registered 45 combined tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, one pass breakup, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.