Former Florida State University Seminole and Dallas Cowboy player Charlon Dorsey passed away on Monday due to complications from a stroke.
Dorsey was 46 years old.
After his career as a football player, Dorsey became a high school football coach, where he remained until his death. One of his assistants expressed his sadness at the passing of his head coach.
“I’m speechless when I think about my brother,” Terry Parker High School student Mike Holloway said. “We’ve been doing this for a very long time. We see kids that we coached now that are coaching now or have kids of their own.
“We have built a tradition through hard work and self-effort, and we have taught our children that through hard work and dedication, you can succeed and be successful.”
Dorsey also left his mark on Florida high school football as a player. He earned first-team 4A All-State honors three times as a defensive tackle. After a productive freshman season at Florida State under the legendary Bobby Bowden, Dorsey moved to the other side of the ball and played right tackle.
Sharon Dorsey #75 of the Florida State Seminoles celebrates with teammates after a game against the Florida Gators at Ben Hill-Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. The Seminoles defeated the Gators 23-30. (Andy Lyons/All Sports)
Dorsey earned accolades there as well, being named to the All-ACC team in 2000.
The former Nole was a seventh-round pick of the Cowboys in 2001 and appeared in nine games for Dallas, including two starts. Dorsey was fired after the season and was picked up by the then-expansion Houston Texans in 2002.
After football, Dorsey found great success as a coach at his former middle school. In 2018, he moved up the high school ranks and took over a struggling program at Terry Parker High School. At the time of his hire, the school had not had a winning season in a decade. However, Dorsey led Parker to a district championship in just his second season.
“He took care of the children.” Said Brad Bernard, Parker Athletic Director. “The children were his first priority. He fought tooth and nail for them. He was a great example of a man. He was able to empathize with children. He was able to empathize with them. I think he saved some children. …If a child came to him and , I told him I was going through a tough time and he encouraged me to get through it because he had been through it.”
