Former Lake Taylor football star Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey has a powerful message to share with other athletes – Daily Press

Lake Taylor High grad Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey hoped to hear his name called at the 2023 NFL draft last April.

But if he didn’t, it was fine with him.

That’s because he had other plans. He had aspirations that he controlled and ones that weren’t controlled by others.

After his Texas Longhorns lost to Washington in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29, Tucker-Dorsey — who had a season-high 10 tackles with five solo — was invited to the Tropical Bowl, which is one of the senior bowls for the NFL. That event was Jan. 21.

One day earlier, Tucker-Dorsey, who dabbled in real estate in college, had a meeting with Austin native Gary Keller, the world’s largest real estate franchise by agent count. It has more than 1,100 offices and 191,000 agents.

He decided to start his new career.

“I had a choice. It (an NFL career) didn’t have to be over,” said Tucker-Dorsey, who didn’t get drafted. “I just decided that once I looked at the situation, you always want to start with the end in mind and put yourself in position to where you are in control of your life.”

Tucker-Dorsey is dictating his own life.

He wants to bring that message to other student-athletes.

Last year, he held a football camp, but on Friday, he will partner with Kevin Holloman to host a career fair for student-athletes ages 9-17 at Lake Taylor from noon to 3 p.m. Holloman is the founder of the United Youth Foundation Leaders. All kids must register to attend.

“I wanted to provide something that they could go home and think about and actually gain something from it and put into use right now,” he said. “I just want them to understand that there’s more out there. I’m not trying to discourage anybody from chasing their dream and trying to go pro. That’s not what I’m trying to do. What I want them to understand is that there’s more out there for you, and there’s a way to get it. I don’t want them to limit themselves. That’s the message that I’m trying to get out.”

Tucker-Dorsey, 24, understands the numbers.

There are more than a million players at the high school level. Of those, only 73,712 make it to the NCAA level, representing just 7.3% of the talent pool. At any one time, just over 16,000 are draft-eligible, which is only 1.6% of that college player pool. And then only 259 players will be drafted.

But even if you are drafted, only 30% will ever make it onto an NFL roster. And those numbers are skewed because most players drafted in the first or second round will make the team. Those drafted in the later rounds have less than a 15% chance.

“It didn’t make sense anymore just given the circumstances that I would be under and the position that I was in as an undrafted or late-round guy,” he said about an NFL career. “It wasn’t hard for me because I didn’t want to go through that. I actually created other opportunities for myself. I knew I could do something else.”

He also understood that even if he got an NFL opportunity, he knew his time would probably be short.

“The shelf life of an NFL player is three years,” he said. “I looked at it as three years I could be in real estate. I can control it. Whereas if you’re in the NFL, you could be playing in Arizona this year and be playing in Philadelphia the next year. I didn’t want to go through that. I thought about my purpose and what I wanted out of life versus doing something because everyone else wanted me to do it.”

But Tucker-Dorsey has always prepared for the future.

While at Lake Taylor, he learned a trade as a welder.

He was the No. 12 senior in South Hampton Roads for the Class of 2017. He helped lead the Titans to the Class 4 state title game as a junior and state quarterfinals as a senior. He earned All-Tidewater, all-state, all-region and all-conference honors.

He wasn’t highly recruited coming out of high school and went to James Madison, where he became an FCS All-American linebacker. In four seasons, he recorded 204 tackles (73 solo), 14.5 for loss, nine pass breakups, four sacks and four interceptions.

With one year of eligibility left, he entered the transfer portal and became one of the highest-recruited players in the portal. He went to Texas, where he played in 13 games, including one start. He finished with 44 tackles (22 solo), three tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, one forced fumble, one quarterback hurry and one pass breakup.

“I think for me personally, I maximized it. I really think I did,” he said about his playing career. “It gave me everything I needed. It was a tool for me. I got money, I got the experience, I got to make connections and I have no regrets. I’m very proud of what I was able to accomplish.”

Tucker-Dorsey, who majored in public policy administration with a concentration in management, wrote about his experience for Sports Illustrated. He wrote if for student-athletes, but it could apply to anyone’s life.

He works as an agent partner on the Livian Texas team located in Austin.

“I love it. I like it because it’s a grind,” he said. “It takes a lot of work. You get out what you put in. And your actions give you your result.”

If you have a child you want to attend this career fair, call 757-577-4429 to register.

Larry Rubama, 757-575-6449, [email protected]. Twitter @LHRubama