Texas Football: 3 transfers ready to make an immediate impact
Ray Thornton, LB
The other former SEC linebacker that the Longhorns added out of the transfer portal this offseason alongside Davis is the former LSU Tigers senior Ray Thornton. An early transfer addition for Sark and the Longhorns, Thornton was able to get on campus during spring ball and establish himself as a leading voice in this linebacking corps.
Just like Davis, Thornton wasn’t able to live up to his full potential with head coach Ed Orgeron and LSU in Baton Rouge in the past few years. The most productive season for Thornton came during his sophomore campaign in 2018. During the 2018 season, Thornton registered 23 combined tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and one sack.
The good news is that Thornton did finish last fall on a high note, playing in just four games for LSU. He registered five combined tackles, two tackles for loss, two sacks, and one forced fumble, in limited snaps in those four games he played in 2020.
The 6-foot-3 and 225-pound senior Thornton can fill somewhat of a hybrid role for the Longhorns after the losses of Ossai and junior Juwan Mitchell (transferred to Tennessee this offseason). He got an early start to make some headway up this depth chart in spring ball, and more positive strides should be on the way soon for Thornton.
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Thornton and Davis might not both be regular starters for the Longhorns out of the gates this fall. Senior linebacker DeMarvion Overshown is very likely to be one of the starters at this level of the defense, and Oghoufo and fellow transfer addition Devin Richardson will still challenge for snaps. Let’s also not forget about Ayodele Adeoye, who will be returning to Texas after putting his name in the transfer portal earlier in the offseason.