Before Georgia, Ole Miss football’s Domonique Thomas is ready for the moment

by Junna Base November 9, 2024

OXFORD – Union College football coach John Luttrell told a hotel employee to turn off all televisions. He wanted to protect his player.

It was March 25, 2021, a Friday, and Union, an NAIA team in Barbourville, Kentucky, had just completed a bus trip to North Carolina for an away game. During the bus ride, freshman running back Domonique Thomas learned that severe storms were raging in his hometown of Ohatchee in eastern Alabama, where his mother, sister and grandparents lived. Thomas tried to call home. No answer.

He later received a call telling him that his mother, Ebonique, and his grandparents had been killed. A tornado had reduced their house to rubble. Ebonique had protected Thomas’ seventh-grade sister, Ontarriah Braxton, in the bathtub.

“I had our team chaplain, AD, and I go into a hotel room and talk to them [Thomas]“I was just trying to comfort him in some way,” Luttrell said. “I made the hotel turn off the news because it was all over the news.” They left the TVs on and I didn’t want him to see any more.

Thomas, now a senior football running back at Ole Miss, is facing his biggest opportunity of the season. When starting running back Henry Parrish was injured in Ole Miss’ win over Arkansas last week, Thomas took over most of the work. He scored a season-high 10 carries and rushed for 41 yards. The No. 12 Rebels host No. 2 Georgia in a big game on Saturday (2:30 p.m. CT, ABC).

“He did a good job when he got in there,” coach Lane Kiffin said. “He is a very consistent player. We’re going to need this position to play well against a team that most people don’t have much success passing the ball against.”

Before the game against Arkansas, Thomas had not touched the ball in the SEC game. With Parrish not listed on the injury report for the Georgia game, Thomas expects him to join Ulysses Bentley in the upcoming Top 15 matchup.

“I just feel like no moment is too big, honestly,” Thomas said.

How Domonique Thomas developed his work ethic

Football has always been a part of Thomas’ life. His first words were “hut, hut” and he started training in third grade.

Luttrell saw Thomas training alone on the practice field with cones and an agility ladder.

“The hardest-working kid I’ve ever coached,” Luttrell said. “Constantly doing things alone, working alone. Great teammate. Great on the field, great off the field.”

A line from motivational speaker Eric Thomas was unshakable in the life of Domonique Thomas.

“When I was in eighth grade, I heard this video of Eric Thomas,” Domonique Thomas said. “He said, ‘If you want to be successful as much as you want to breathe, you will be successful.’ I’ve just had that attitude ever since.

As a freshman at Union, Thomas averaged 5.4 yards per rush and was a reliable pass-catching option. He totaled 812 yards in six games and was named the Mid-South Conference Appalachian Division Offensive Freshman of the Year. His downhill running style suited his soft hands well.

Luttrell said Thomas would have been an All-American if he had stayed at the NAIA level.

“I remember one particular game where I put the headset on and said to our offensive coordinator, ‘Look, I don’t care what you call as long as Domonique has the ball in his hands,'” Luttrell said.

Why Domonique Thomas has big goals beyond Ole Miss

Thomas played one season at Union before transferring to Clemson in 2022. It was a simple calculation and a friendly farewell.

“At the end of the semester he said, ‘Hey coach, I have this goal. I want to try to play at a high level and if I can, I want to make it to the NFL so I can take care of my little sister. ‘” Luttrell said.

Thomas started as a backup at Clemson but eventually earned a scholarship. He transferred to Georgia State before the 2024 season but did not play a game there.

“On the third day of spring ball, the head coach (of Georgia State) decided to leave,” Thomas said. “We got new staff. I saw this as an opportunity to reconsider my portal decision.”

Thomas estimates that 19 schools reached out to him after he left Georgia State and that he chose Ole Miss after a campus visit. He said running backs coach Kevin Smith told him to prepare for games by recruiting a starter. Thomas is doing just that, but he’ll be running against Georgia for more than just himself.

“[My sister Ontarriah] “I just knew I had to be strong for her.” I still do that. I try to be a role model for her and do everything I can to take care of her.”

Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] or reach him on X @Sam_Hutchens_

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