GC Football: Dontay Thomas signs with UT Permian Basin
Feb. 16—They're going to miss Dontay.
If the Corsicana Tiger football team had to name the most versatile, most reliable and overall most talented player — on and off the field — over the past four seasons, the choice would be an easy one, Dontay Thomas.
Thomas signed a letter of intent this week, accepting a football scholarship from the University of Texas—Permian Basin, where he will no doubt be a leader and a fan favorite. UT Permian Basin is a DII program that plays in the Lone Star Conference.
Dontay did everything but sell tickets and pop the popcorn in the concession stands for a program that struggled during his four-year career with the Tigers.
The Tigers might have been undersized and out matched most Friday nights, but Dontay always played bigger-than-life with a heart and passion impossible to measure. He was every coach's dream — a leader on and off the field — who rarely came off the field playing both ways throughout his four-year career with the Tigers.
He was the 2022 Golden Circle Del Thrash Award winner as the top player in the Golden Circle, and after finishing his senior year that was slowed down by injuries, Dontay was named the Golden Circle Randy Green Iron Man award winner as the GC's top two-way player. He was also named to the District 5-5A DII All-District team as a junior and senior.
He was a four-year starter who did it all at tailback, wide receiver and even spent some time at quarterback and led the defense as the top defensive back in the Golden Circle year after year.
Dontay also was a force in track & field last spring, taking second-place at the Area Meet in the long jump with a leap of 44 feet, 6 inches to earn a berth at the Region II Meet, where he finished 12th.
Along the way, Dontay was named the 2023 Homecoming King, and played both ways that night, scoring a touchdown in the Homecoming game.
He will be more than missed. He carved out a memorable career on and off the football field and will be impossible to replace — a tough, hard-nose and dedicated player and role model for Corsicana's young roster who did it all and did it all with class.
