Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey is on a new path thanks to hard work and a chance meeting

Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey arrived in Austin last year in order to prove himself. At the time, he thought that would take place on Campbell-Williams Field at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium before he embarked on a professional football career. Things didn’t exactly go to plan, but Tucker-Dorsey has forged a new path in the Texas state capital thanks to opportunities provided by football few others would think to take advantage of.

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Tucker-Dorsey, listed by Texas at 5-foot-10, 219 pounds, transferred to UT from James Madison ahead of the 2022 season. He left the Dukes in order to compete for a championship, as JMU was not eligible to win the Sun Belt as part of their transition from the FCS. Having accomplished a lot in his home state of Virginia, including multiple FCS All-America honors, Tucker-Dorsey wanted to prove himself at the FBS and Power 5 level to show he was more than the recruiting ranking in the 4000s indicated.

“Coming to Texas, I was at a perfect position at that point in my life when I first got there,” Tucker-Dorsey told Inside Texas in mid-May. “I felt like I wouldn’t change anything about my life. Everything was on the right path, everything was on the right trajectory. I was coming, I was going to start, I was going to go to the NFL. Everything was going the right way.”

There was one issue, or rather two. Texas had DeMarvion Overshown and Jaylan Ford in the linebacker room, two of the best players on the Longhorn defense. Those two were difficult for defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski to take off the field, even though Tucker-Dorsey performed well in his chances and made several pivotal plays during his one season in Austin.

But it wasn’t easy. Tucker-Dorsey had to surrender his No. 2 jersey number early on since he shared special teams units with Roschon Johnson. The number of opportunities on the field weren’t sparse, but he wasn’t a starter and he didn’t get starter-level snaps. Tucker-Dorsey, known as “Tuck,” had to have hard conversations with himself.

“As the season went on, some things didn’t go my way as far as playing time and I had to weigh my options as far as the league goes and make sure that was the right thing for me to do,” Tucker-Dorsey said. “I know who I am. I know my purpose in my life is more than just playing a sport. I wanted to always use my sport as a way to fulfill my purpose.”

In the leadup to Texas’ Alamo Bowl contest with Washington, an opportunity presented itself that made Tucker-Dorsey realize Austin was exactly where he needed to be.

Tucker-Dorsey, Johnson, and Quinn Ewers, through connections made by Clark Field Collective founder Nick Shuley, were able to meet with Austin native Gary Keller. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because it’s the Keller in Keller Williams Realty.

Tucker-Dorsey dabbled in real estate in college, but his responsibilities manning the middle of the JMU defense that won conference titles and made the FCS tournament took up most of his time. It still appealed to him, and Tucker-Dorsey made sure to let Keller know during his quick meeting.

Keller’s response?

“If you want to do real estate, whenever you’re ready just let me know and I can take care of you wherever you’re at in whatever state,” per Tucker-Dorsey.

Tuck started the Alamo Bowl in Overshown’s place, tallying season highs with 10 tackles, five solo tackles and one quarterback hurry. He gained the attention of the Tropical Bowl, one of a number of college draft showcases. He had an invite to go to Orlando, needing to be on-site on January 21.

But after the game, Tucker-Dorsey texted Shuley. He was interested in starting his new career.

“Nick hit me back,” Tucker-Dorsey said. “He’s like, ‘Gary is actually going to be the one who takes you through the process.’

“For me? I was like, he wants to do what?”

He had a decision to make: meet with the world-renowned Keller on the 20th or fly to Orlando and report on the 21st? His faith led him to chose Austin and the meeting with Keller.

“Everything pointed to this opportunity and I couldn’t pass it up,” Tucker-Dorsey said.

He took the Keller Williams KPA assessment and went over the results with Keller. The meeting lasted over an hour, with discussions about life goals, backstories, purpose, and more.

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According to Tucker-Dorsey, Keller told him that 99 percent of people don’t think the way that you do.

“It’s funny, I have a chain that says 1% on it,” Tucker-Dorsey said. “I pulled it out, showed him. We just laughed about that together. At the conclusion of the conversation, he said ‘I believe in you and from the conversation that we had, I want to sponsor you.’”

Since that time, Tucker-Dorsey has settled into a role as an agent partner on the Livian Texas team located in Austin. He’s learning more and more about the business and is intent on making becoming successful on another playing field.

There are no regrets for Tucker-Dorsey. He mentioned he spoke recently with Steve Sarkisian and wants nothing but the best for his teammates. He realized college football can provide golden opportunities to student-athletes, as can NIL opportunities.

But they are opportunities that have to be taken.

“You have to actually put yourself out there,” Tucker-Dorsey said. “I’m not in this position by accident. It didn’t happen on accident. I’m here for a reason, it’s because of the way that I conduct myself.”

If another school had gotten in touch after he entered the portal following the 2021 season, it might not have made much of a difference. Tucker-Dorsey said that once Texas got in contact, with UT being located in Austin, the choice was easy.

“God put me here on purpose,” Tucker-Dorsey said. “Everything here revolved around this.”

Tucker-Dorsey will always remember being ranked as the No. 4168 player in the nation by another recruiting service with two stars ascribed to his name. He left JMU as one of the top transfers in the country, and now wants to be one of the best in his new field.

All because he wants to prove himself as someone who thinks, acts, operates in a way different than 99 percent of other people.