The Many Families of RaSean Thomas '24

ITHACA, N.Y. — When RaSean Thomas reflects on the path he’s traveled from Mobile, Ala. to Cornell University, his accomplishments don’t come to mind first. Thomas, a senior linebacker for the Big Red, instead thinks of his uncle, Boaz Dotch, who made him believe he could get here. 

“He pushed me from the time I started playing pee-wee football,” Thomas said. “He always told me, ‘You’re going to do this (play football in college), you’re going to do that.’ It was something he told me to keep me going.”

Thomas can still hear those words now, years after Dotch passed away in a car accident while en route to one of Thomas’ high school games. 

Those words are why Thomas, at a crossroads after the tragedy, decided to stick with football instead of walking away. The same words are why Thomas earned a Division I football opportunity despite challenges that could have blocked his path. 

“It weighed heavy on me for a while,” Thomas said. “He was one the way to my game — I felt like it was my fault. I contemplated quitting (football). But that’s not what he would’ve wanted me to do. He would’ve wanted me to keep playing.”

Thomas needed the kind of stabilizing support Dotch provided. 

He grew up without a father, and his mother worked multiple jobs to keep the family afloat financially. He often stayed with friends when facing an uncertain home life. 

He did not have the same opportunities — athletically and academically — that many of his peers had. 

Still, Thomas stayed focused on what he could control. His uncle made sure of that. 

“My uncle was in the Navy, so he was very disciplined,” Thomas said. “He taught me that discipline. If I focused on all the things that were going on around home, I would’ve stayed in Mobile. I wouldn’t have made it out. I wouldn’t have made it this far.”

Thomas said his uncle was the first person who showed him what life outside of Mobile looked like. That’s when Thomas, a regular on the Big Red’s defense over the last two seasons, started to realize his dreams of moving beyond his bubble and playing collegiate football. 

“He took me on a trip to Jacksonville, Fla. — that’s where he lived,” Thomas said. “That was the first time I really left Mobile. The streets were clean…I didn’t know that’s how other people lived. I’d never been outside of Mobile. He really expanded my mind and let me see there was so much more out there.” 

More importantly, Thomas saw how much family meant to his uncle. 

“He always strived to take care of the family,” he said. “That was his biggest thing. He was starting businesses and getting things right. We needed to be more stable and more together. He always kept that at the center of his core.” 

Thomas added, “He was just my biggest role model.” 

He has followed in those footsteps. 

“I have tried to glorify him in every way,” Thomas said. 

When RaSean Thomas reflects on the path he’s traveled from Mobile, Alabama, to Cornell University, his accomplishments don’t come to mind first. Thomas, a senior linebacker for the Big Red, instead thinks of his support system.