Mount St. Joseph’s Thornton highlights area players on state football Class of 2021 rankings
Mount St. Joseph’s Dont’e Thornton heads to the end zone during a football game last fall. The wide receiver is the area’s No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2021 by recruiting sites Rivals and 247Sports. (photo – Sports Majors)
by Derek Toney
Baltimore is again well represented on the state and national high school football recruiting sheets for the Class of 2021.
Mount St. Joseph wide receiver Dont’e Thornton is the area’s top prospect. The 6-foot-4 speedster is a consensus Top 100 national recruit, rated 47th by 247Sports and 52nd in Rivals.com’s Top 150.
Thornton, who helped the Gaels to the MIAA A Conference championship last fall, has more than two dozen scholarship offers, including reigning national champ LSU, Arizona State, Florida State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee, USC, Virginia and West Virginia. Thornton gave a verbal commitment to Penn State in February 2019, but reopened his recruitment this past August.
St. Frances Academy, the area’s No. 1 team the past four seasons, has eight players among Rivals.com’s Maryland Top 35, led by inside linebacker Aaron Willis. He’s rated fourth in the state by Rivals and 247Sports.
The Panthers also have defensive tackle Katron Jones, defensive back Clifton Burton, linebacker Jamon Johnson, offensive linemen Delfin Castillo, defensive ends Zionangelo Shockley and Terrance Butler and tight end Joe Bearns.
Bearns and Shockley are committed to Maryland, and Burton is pledged to Florida.
Archbishop Spalding have defensive backs Jayon Venerable, a Maryland commit, and Zakee Wheatley, and quarterback Austin Tutas.
Here’s the complete list of area players (in alphabetical order) on Rivals’ and 247Sports’ top players in Maryland.
Andrew Adair, St. Frances Academy
Position: Center
State rank: No. 33 (Rivals)
College verbally committed: undecided
Joe Bearns, St. Frances Academy
Position: Tight end
State rank: No. 32 (Rivals); No. 35 (247Sports)
College verbally committed: Maryland
Clinton Burton from St. Frances
Clinton Burton, St. Frances Academy
Position: Cornerback
State rank: No. 7 (247Sports); No. 13 (Rivals)
College verbally committed: Florida
Terrance Butler, St. Frances Academy
Position: Defensive end
State rank: No. 21 (247Sports); No. 24 (Rivals)
College verbally committed: undecided
Mattheus Carroll, Gilman School
Position: Defensive end/Tight end
State rank: No. 23 (Rivals); No. 24 (247Sports)
College verbally committed: undecided
Xavier Castillo, St. Frances Academy
Position: Offensive tackle
State rank: No. 17 (247Sports & Rivals)
College verbally committed: undecided
Katron Evans, St. Frances Academy
Position: Defensive tackle
State rank: No. 6 (Rivals); No. 8 (247Sports)
College verbally committed: undecided
Roman Hemby from John Carroll
Roman Hemby, John Carroll School
Position: Running back
State rank: No. 38 (247Sports)
College verbally committed: Maryland
Jamon Johnson, St. Frances Academy
Position: Linebacker
State rank: No. 12 (247Sports); No. 14 (Rivals)
College verbally committed: undecided
Jordan Moore from Loyola
Jordan Moore, Loyola Blakefield
Position: Quarterback/Athlete
State rank: No. 25 (Rivals); No. 31 (247Sports)
College verbally committed: undecided
Isaiah Perkins, St. Vincent Pallotti
Position: Wide receiver
State rank: No. 37 (247Sports)
College verbally committed: undecided
Zionangelo Shockley, St. Frances Academy
Position: Defensive end
State rank: No. 18 (247Sports & Rivals)
College verbally committed: Maryland
Dont’e Thornton, St. Frances Academy
Position: Wide receiver
State rank: No. 2 (247Sports); No. 3 (Rivals)
College verbally committed: undecided
Dante Trader, McDonogh School
Position: Defensive back/Athlete
State rank: No. 22 (247Sports); No. 31 (Rivals)
College verbally committed: Maryland
Austin Tutas from Spalding
Austin Tutas, Archbishop Spalding
Position: Quarterback
State rank: No. 28 (Rivals); No. 36 (247Sports)
College verbally committed: undecided
Jayon Venerable, Archbishop Spalding
Position: Safety/Athlete
State rank: No. 25 (247Sports); No. 29 (Rivals)
College verbally committed: Maryland
Zakee Wheatley, Archbishop Spalding
Position: Safety/Athlete
State rank: No. 12 (Rivals); No. 15 (247Sports)
College verbally committed: undecided
Keshawn Wheeler, St. Vincent Pallotti
Position: Running back
State rank: No. 41 (247Sports)
College verbally committed: undecided
Aaron Willis, St. Frances Academy
Position: Linebacker
State rank: No. 4 (247Sports & Rivals)
College verbally committed: undecided
