by J.T. Toth
Photo courtesy of The Transfer Portal CFB.
The NFL Draft talk never ends and we here at Draft 412 will keep you ready for the next set of gridiron stars. From today until draft night 2024 we will bring you mocks, profiles, team needs, and everything else related to the 2024 NFL Draft.
Today’s Spotlight -Colorado State, Wide Receiver, Tory Horton
Name- Tory Horton
Pos- WR
Team- Colorado State
HT/WT- 6’2” 180 lbs.
Born- n/a
Home – Fresno, CA
Tory Horton played high school football for Washington Union and was a three-sport standout in football, basketball and baseball. In his senior season at football, he was named the League MVP and was a first team selection after recording 37 receptions for 821 yards and 15 touchdowns. Horton committed to Nevada over offers from Montana, Montana State and Northern Colorado.
As a freshman at Nevada, Horton was part of a regular rotation at wide receiver and played in 9 games, hauling in 20 passes for 336 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Horton was used a lot more in his sophomore year and showed what he can do when targeted. He finished the season with 52 catches for 659 yards and once again scored 5 touchdowns for the Wolf Pack. After the season, Horton entered the transfer portal and decided to continue his collegiate football career at Colorado State.
Last season at Colorado State, Horton took his game to the next level, playing in 12 games, he caught 71 passes for 1,131 yards and 8 touchdowns. He also was a weapon returning punts, averaging 15.5 yards per punt return and returning one 72 yards for a touchdown against Wyoming.
This season, Tory Horton has added even more production and is now considered a solid mid round draft pick. In 10 games, Horton has 81 receptions for 872 yards and 6 touchdowns. He once again is averaging over 10 yards per punt return and has returned another for a touchdown.
Tory Horton has excellent ball skills and the body control to expand his catch radius. He has strong hands and catches most passes in front of his body, and is efficient at being able to make one handed and circus catches as well. He has a good double move that translates into his straight line speed that enables him to be a weapon down the sideline. He has excellent vision and is hard to contain after catching the ball in open space. He adds a lot to an organization’s special teams with his punt returning ability, once he gets in the open field he has enough vision and moves to be a handful.
He is able to run past collegiate defenders but will not have the elite speed to do this as routinely at the NFL level. He has good size but does not do a good job of shielding himself and making 50/50 type catches as often as you’d expect. He is more of a straight line receiver and not one that will beat you short with cutting. He struggles to break off routes when a play blows up and find open space to extend plays. He is better matched up one-on-one than going against zone defenses.
Last year, Rashee Rice was a 2nd round pick out of SMU by the Kansas City Chiefs and Draft 412 thinks Tory Horton has a lot of the same qualities. Both excel at ball tracking and have a great combination of size, speed and hands. Horton’s return ability gives him a chance to make more of a name for himself than what Rice has done in Kansas City.
Strengths
Ball tracking
Punt returning
Hands
Body Control
Weaknesses
50/50 balls
Extending plays
Zones
Final Analysis
Tory Horton is an up and comer who continues to put up productive numbers each week. He is an excellent return man, which could get him into the second round of the draft, though Draft 412 thinks the 4th round is a safer bet.
Draft 412 Draft Prediction - 3rd or 4th round