Georgia
Manning, GT start scholarship to honor Thomas
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Corridor of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning has created a scholarship fund at Georgia Tech to honor his pal and former teammate Demaryius Thomas.
Thomas, a former Georgia Tech huge receiver and Georgia native, died Dec. 9 at age 33.
The Demaryius Thomas Scholarship Endowment, created by Manning’s PeyBack Basis, will award educational scholarships to incoming freshmen from Laurens County, Ga., the place Thomas was born and raised, or surrounding communities who reveal vital monetary want and educational achievement. Full or partial scholarships might be awarded yearly, and college students will obtain the scholarships till they graduate from Georgia Tech.
“Demaryius Thomas was an extremely gifted and unselfish teammate, however extra importantly, he was a particular individual and pal,” Manning mentioned Wednesday in an announcement. “My household and I miss him dearly, and we needed to honor D.T.’s reminiscence by partnering the PeyBack Basis with Georgia Tech to ascertain the Demaryius A. Thomas Scholarship Endowment.
“An necessary a part of Demaryius’ legacy was the way in which he impressed the subsequent era to pursue their goals with the identical perseverance and dedication that outlined him. Via this scholarship to Georgia Tech, Demaryius may have an enduring affect on deserving youth from his hometown space who can comply with in his footsteps and achieve nice issues in life.”
Georgia Tech additionally introduced that Aug. 8 might be acknowledged as Demaryius Thomas Day annually; Thomas’ uniform quantity on the faculty was No. 8. The recipient of the scholarship might be acknowledged that day as properly.
Yellow Jackets gamers may even put on a No. 8 decal on their helmets within the 2022 season.
“We’re grateful to Peyton and Ashley Manning and the PeyBack Basis for establishing the Demaryius Thomas Scholarship,” Georgia Tech athletic director Todd Stansbury mentioned in an announcement. “Due to their beneficiant contribution, Demaryius’ legacy might be carried on by Georgia Tech college students from Laurens County and surrounding areas for years to return and his reminiscence might be celebrated annually throughout our 8/8 Day recognitions.”
Thomas was a first-round decide by the Denver Broncos within the 2010 NFL draft and spent 9 seasons with the group, together with all 4 of Manning’s seasons in Denver. He completed his profession because the Broncos’ second-leading receiver (9,055 yards), behind solely Rod Smith, and is third in franchise historical past in catches (655) behind Smith and Corridor of Famer Shannon Sharpe.
With the arrival of Manning to the Broncos in 2012, Thomas had a minimum of 90 receptions and 1,300 yards in 4 consecutive seasons, becoming a member of Corridor of Famers Marvin Harrison and Jerry Rice in addition to former Rams huge receiver Torry Holt as the one gamers to succeed in these totals over 4 consecutive seasons.
Within the Broncos’ record-setting 2013 season, when Denver scored a single-season report 606 factors and Manning set NFL data for passing yards (5,477) and touchdowns (55), Thomas completed with a career-best 14 touchdowns. The next season, Thomas completed with a career-best 1,619 receiving yards.
In all, Thomas set 16 Broncos franchise data, together with his 1,619-yard season and his 33 profession 100-yard video games.
Enjoying 10 seasons total with the Broncos, Houston Texans and New York Jets, Thomas completed his NFL profession with 724 catches for 9,763 yards and 63 touchdowns.
At Georgia Tech, Thomas was a first-team All-ACC choice in 2009 and formally recorded 113 receptions for two,135 yards and 13 touchdowns over three seasons.
Alabama baseball beat out the flood this weekend and received a boost in the polls as a reward.
After a down pouring of runs against Georgia in the opener on Friday and the monsoons that ensued, the Crimson Tide clinched its last home SEC series of the regular season against the Bulldogs, who dropped two spots to No. 8 in the latest Coaches Poll with their first series loss to Alabama since 2015.
Going 2-1 on the weekend, Alabama moved from No. 20 to No. 16 in the country, which plays in favor of the program’s hopes to get back in Sewell-Thomas Stadium during the NCAA Tournament.
Before the regular season comes to a close, Alabama has to make the trip to Florida, and the Gators will be coming in hot after moving up 11 spots into the poll at No. 21 after taking the weekend series against No. 1-turned-No. 3 Texas.
In other polls, Alabama is ranked No. 18 by D1Baseball and moved from No. 12 to No. 8 in RPI.
Here’s a look at how the Top 25 stacks up as of Monday.
Where is Alabama baseball in polls after upsetting Georgia?
| Rank | Team | Record | PTS | 1st | Prev | Chg | Hi/Lo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LSU | 40-12 | 729 | 19 | 4 | +3 | 1/7 |
| 2 | Florida State | 36-11 | 675 | 5 | 3 | +1 | 2/8 |
| 3 | Texas | 40-10 | 646 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 1/14 |
| 4 | North Carolina | 37-11 | 640 | 0 | 5 | +1 | 3/18 |
| 5 | Arkansas | 41-11 | 605 | 2 | 2 | -3 | 1/5 |
| 6 | Auburn | 36-15 | 604 | 1 | 8 | +2 | 6/NR |
| 7 | Oregon | 38-13 | 593 | 1 | 7 | – | 7/18 |
| 8 | Georgia | 40-13 | 544 | 0 | 6 | -2 | 3/9 |
| 9 | Vanderbilt | 36-16 | 499 | 1 | 10 | +1 | 9/20 |
| 10 | Oregon State | 37-12 | 479 | 0 | 11 | +1 | 3/12 |
| 11 | Coastal Carolina | 41-11 | 436 | 0 | 14 | +3 | 11/NR |
| 12 | UC Irvine | 38-11 | 392 | 0 | 15 | +3 | 9/NR |
| 13 | Clemson | 38-15 | 339 | 0 | 9 | -4 | 2/13 |
| 14 | Tennessee | 39-13 | 325 | 0 | 12 | -2 | 1/14 |
| 15 | UCLA | 37-14 | 304 | 0 | 17 | +2 | 11/NR |
| 16 | Alabama | 39-13 | 291 | 0 | 20 | +4 | 8/NR |
| 17 | West Virginia | 40-10 | 252 | 0 | 13 | -4 | 13/NR |
| 18 | North Carolina State | 32-16 | 236 | 0 | 19 | +1 | 16/NR |
| 19 | Southern Miss | 38-13 | 193 | 0 | 21 | +2 | 16/NR |
| 20 | Troy | 37-16 | 164 | 0 | 18 | -2 | 18/NR |
| 21 | Florida | 35-18 | 152 | 0 | NR | +11 | 6/NR |
| 22 | Dallas Baptist | 36-13 | 121 | 0 | 25 | +3 | 17/NR |
| 23 | Louisville | 34-17 | 98 | 0 | 24 | +1 | 16/NR |
| 24 | Duke | 35-16 | 69 | 0 | NR | +9 | 12/NR |
| 25 | Ole Miss | 34-17 | 63 | 0 | 22 | -3 | 7/NR |
Schools Dropped Out
No. 16 Oklahoma; No. 23 Arizona;
Others Receiving Votes
Georgia Tech 59; Northeastern 54; Oklahoma 42; TCU 36; UTSA 33; Arizona State 15; Arizona 14; Miami (FL) 11; Virginia 8; Western Kentucky 6; Kansas 6; Iowa 6; Austin Peay 4; Kentucky 2; Wake Forest 1; USC 1; Lamar 1; Kansas State 1; Connecticut 1;
List Of Voters
The USA TODAY Sports board of coaches is made up of 30 coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the American Baseball Coaches Association. The board for the 2025 season: Mik Aoki, Richmond; Andrew Checketts, UC-Santa Barbara; Jim Chester, Gardner-Webb; Reggie Christiansen, Sacramento State; Terry Davis, Western Illinois; Jeff Forehand, Lipscomb; Craig Gibson, Mercer; Justin Haire, Ohio State; Danny Hall, Georgia Tech; Brian Hamm, Yale; Charlie Hickey, Central Connecticut State; Josh Holliday, Oklahoma State; Randy Hood, UNC-Wilmington; Omar Johnson, Jackson State; Ed Kahovec, Holy Cross; Ryan Klosterman, Bryant; Geoff Loomis, Portland; Sean Lyons, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville; Scott Malone, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi; John McCormack, Florida Atlantic; Jake McKinley, Nevada; Jim Penders, Connecticut; Evan Porter, Nebraska-Omaha; Marc Rardin, Western Kentucky; Sherman Reed, Coppin State; Jake Sabol, Central Michigan; Kevin Schnall, Coastal Carolina; Dan Skirka, Murray State; Alex Sogard, Wright State; Butch Thompson, Auburn.
Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for the Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.
DALTON, Ga. – A Dalton teen and her father remain in ICE custody after getting arrested during separate traffic stops.
19-year-old Ximena Arias-Cristobal’s attorneys are working to get her a bond hearing. Arias-Cristobal was arrested on Monday for not having a valid license.
“It’s just terrible how she ended up in this situation … wrong turn and she ends up in ICE custody,” said attorney Dustin Baxter, who represents Arias-Cristobal.
Baxter said he is confident the teen will get a bond.
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“She has no criminal history, she has the support of her community, she’s in class,” he said.
Arias-Cristobal’s dad, 43-year-old Arias Tovar, is at the same detention facility after he was taken into custody for speeding and not having a license. Both Arias-Cristobal and Tovar are undocumented, but the 19-year-old has been in the United States since she was four.
“She does face deportation proceedings even if she’s bonded out, so it’s going to be our job to find a way to keep her here based on her circumstances,” Baxter said. “What she has going on in her personal life and whether or not she has fear of returning to Mexico, her home country.”
The family’s case has received a lot of attention. In a social media post on X, Homeland Security wrote that Tovar had a chance to seek a legal way to citizenship but chose not to.
“I hope that people will see this with a little more empathy, if they can relate with Ximena,” he said.
On Friday, many gathered on Buford Hwy. to rally for the release of Arias-Cristobal. The rally lasted a little over an hour, but the dozens who showed up hope the message resonates much longer with the community.
Signs and chants in Brookhaven called for ICE to release the daughter and her dad from custody.
Organizers of Friday’s rally hope that it will lead to Arias-Cristobal and her dad’s freedom and give the community a chance to unite against recent deportation efforts from the Trump administration.
One person said he believes the administration is unwilling to hear from the people.
“That dialogue is a like a dialogue between the sword and the neck,” said Miles Wetherington, one of the rally’s organizers. “What’s important is we need to build working-class power. As working-class people, we recognize the connections that we have with the immigrant community, and we need to show solidarity with them.”
Another participant in the rally, Jessica Salazar, traveled to Friday’s rally, pushing for Ximena’s freedom. She says she went to high school with Ximena in Dalton and understands the pain of this deportation process. Salazar says her mother was deported back to Mexico seven years ago.
“I graduated without her, so it is really hard,” Salaza said. “We shouldn’t live in fear. It shouldn’t be something everyone lives by day by day, in fear. Ximena was really young.
“It’s scary because Ximena did absolutely nothing wrong.”
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
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