Tech honors Demaryius Thomas and his legacy with 8-8 Day

ATLANTA- The impact a person makes on the world can be hard to measure, but the impact former Georgia Tech and Denver Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas made on people he encountered in his brief 33 years on this planet is impossible to measure. The former star receiver passed away last December stunning the football world and those who knew and loved him. So it was no surprise that the wheels were set in motion quickly to honor his legacy and memory on the field where he began his legendary career.

Soon after his passing Yellow Jackets athletic director Todd Stansbury connected with Thomas' former quarterback and friend Peyton Manning and they began working on ways to honor his legacy. The most important part was setting up an endowed scholarship fun for students from Laurens County and the surrounding area where Thomas grew up and overcame many obstacles. Manning and his wife Ashley's Peyback Foundation endowed the scholarships for use for Georgia Tech students. Five students will be attending Georgia Tech via the scholarship fund in Thomas' honor.

Manning along with Thomas' former Tech teammates Morgan Burnett and Josh Nesbitt met with the current team to share some perspective on the life of Demaryius Thomas.

"It certainly was a range of emotions," Manning said of meeting with the Tech team. "They showed a very powerful video in a team meeting with all the players and coaches. Collins introduced it and it was very moving. It was as Demaryius as a young child and in high school, then Georgia Tech, the Broncos, and in all his community service pictures. It just had his voice, you know, talking about his approach to playing football, his approach to community service and giving back and loving people. So it was there were a lot of tears flowing in that team meeting room, a lot of tough football players, but everybody was was very moved by it. So I just appreciate Georgia Tech. making all this happen."

During his time speaking with the players, Manning shared stories of the unselfish player and person Thomas was.

"Demaryius was a big reason why I went to play in Denver. His unselfishness, his toughness, there's an old saying that football is the difference between being hurt and being injured, and Demaryius was hurt a lot but yet he always practiced he always played he always answered the bell for his teammates," Manning said. "He took it took a lot of pride in the defense double covering him because he's gonna allow someone else to catch the ball as opposed to complaining, hey, 'I'm not getting the ball enough. I'm getting double covered.' He took pride in that but the team over himself so just wanted to the team to learn about him."

Stansbury and Collins also decided to make jersey #8 a special honor for future Georgia Tech players and the two players who will don that number this year slot receiver Nate McCollum and defensive tackle Makius Scott embody the things that Thomas stood for as a player and a person.

"The two Georgia Tech football players Nate McCollum and Makius Scott will honor Demaryius' legacy by rocking the number eight this year and just explained to them and to the whole team what an honor that is," Collins said. "They exemplified the characteristics of a teammate, the selflessness, hard work, toughness, read all of those things. That was BayBay."

Collins said that McCollum's unselfish play on special teams going back to high school shows Thomas' spirit as does the way Scott works and selflessly allows others to shine behind him making plays.

Morgan Burnett also spoke of the bond he shared with Thomas as Nesbitt, Thomas and Burnett shared a dorm when they started at Georgia Tech.

"Demaryius, Joshua, and I all lived in a dorm together and I will always cherish those moments when we let our guard down and we got to learn about each other's backgrounds outside of football. I loved going out and winning football games on Saturdays, but I cherish those moments going back to the dorm rooms," he said.

As part of the annual 8-8 Day celebration, Georgia Tech football players will have a community service element every year. The team will spend Monday afternoon with the local Boys and Girls Club, a favorite charity of Thomas as a way to honor his legacy as well.