Penn State football 2021 4-star WR Dont’e Thornton de-commits from Lions

Penn State football’s first committed prospect from the 2021 class, Dont’e Thornton has de-committed from the Lions on Thursday.

Penn State football’s recruiting classes have had some gains as of late. After a tough start to the month of June, the recruiting process took a sour turn as they lost a handful of commitments for the 2020 class. Fortunately, Penn State bounced back and eventually gained more than they lost before the NCAA dead period approached and set in place in July.

Then, after a successful Lasch Bash this past weekend to wrap up the recruiting events of the summer, the Lions gained two more prospects. One happened to be for the 2020 class, in a three-star Canadian wide receiver, Malick Meiga. The other was a 2021 prospect in tight end, Nick Elksnis. On Wednesday, Elksnis became the second prospect to commit for the 2021 class next to four-star wide receiver, Dont’e Thornton.

Unfortunately, Eklsnis went from joining the class with Thornton, to being the lone commitment as of now. On Thursday, Thornton took to Twitter to make a surprising announcement, which will come off as a shock for those in Happy Valley. After visiting other campuses, Thornton has decided that Happy Valley might not be the destination for him in the future. Therefore, the four-star wideout has de-committed from Penn State and will open up his recruitment.

Thornton’s official statement:

"“First off I want to thank Coach (James) Franklin and the entire Penn State coaching staff and family for all the love they have provided me during my commitment. Truly after countless hours of thinking with my family and coaches about this, I would like to announce that I am reopening my recruitment to explore and weigh all my options.”"

Thornton’s decision to de-commit from Penn State creates a massive loss for the Lions. The six-foot-four-inch, 179-pound wideout currently ranks as the 38th best prospect in the nation for the 2021 class. He’s second in the state of Maryland and ranks fourth at the position so far. Before committing to Penn State, Thornton had 12 offers on the table with the likings of Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State, LSU, Florida and more.

This past weekend, Thornton stood out in a camp as he visited Oregon. While 247 Sports’ Tyler Donohue mentions that Thornton’s absence from the Lasch Bash this past weekend did raise some concerns, nobody thought anything of it. Now, the slight concerns become real though, as Thornton will explore other options. He did mention that Penn State remains on his list as he re-opens his recruitment, but de-committing is never a good sign regardless.