Dont'e Thornton, Oregon freshmen, shine in Week 3 win
As soon as Dont’e Thornton crossed the goal line and burst into the end zone Saturday night, one thought crossed his mind.
“Man, my mom must be real proud of me right now,” Thornton said with a smile.
On the first touch of his college career, Thornton caught a ball from Ty Thompson and had 40 yards between him and the end zone. He made the distance disappear in the blink of an eye, leaving five Stony Brook defenders in his wake as he turned on the afterburners and scored untouched.
That brief sequence encapsulated what makes the future of this Oregon team is so bright. A 4-star quarterback effortlessly flicked the ball to a 4-star receiver who had worked himself open, and as he jetted toward the endzone, another 4-star receiver, Troy Franklin, manhandled a defensive back to clear the path.
Celebrating with Thornton in the end zone was Terrance Ferguson, who also caught a touchdown pass.
That quartet, along with the rest of Oregon’s loaded 2021 class, is hellbent on helping the Ducks transform into national title contenders — and doing it together.
“In the next few years, we’re really going to show everyone that we have a great core over here,” Thornton said.
At times Saturday, plenty of Oregon fans were probably asking, “Why not now?”
In his brief cameo against Stony Brook, Thornton looked sensational. He finished with 60 yards on two catches, but showed an electric burst on all his routes and seemed to hit another gear each time he touched the ball. He consistently made the Seawolves secondary look like it was moving in slow motion.
“I’m not gonna lie, it feels really crazy,” Thornton said of his touchdown catch. “Growing up as a young child, playing at Oregon was a dream of mine for my entire life.
“So my first catch actually being a touchdown, it felt really crazy for me.”
Saturday was an electric afternoon for Oregon’s young stars. Mario Cristobal said the Ducks played 80 different players in total. A plethora of Ducks made their college debuts. Thompson, Thornton, Franklin, and Ferguson arguably had the biggest days of the true freshman, but plenty of other players from the class played significant snaps.
Kingsley Suamataia, Jaylin Davies, Byron Cardwell, and Seven McGee were some of the others who appeared frequently.
“They played really good, they ran downhill,” Travis Dye said of Oregon’s three freshman running backs. The biggest thing that coach (Jim Mastro always tries to preach is that there better not be a drop-off.
“From me, to (CJ Verdell), to anybody else who is after that. They did a great job today. I’m really proud of my guys.”
With the injury issues the Ducks currently have at a few key positions, a handful of first-year players could be heavily leaned on throughout the year. Saturday was simply the first instance of seeing some of them in a game situation.
“It was a very valuable time for a lot of guys,” Cristobal said. “And a lot of guys are seeing action on special teams as well. Special teams have
been loaded up with a lot of guys that have really been spending their first year on campus.
“And they’re not just on there because we’re trying to give other guys rest. They’re on there because they’re fast, athletic, and explosive players and we need to get them on the field.”
