Tobias Dorzon’s life went from donning helmets to donning a chef’s hat. His story is an immensely unique one, considering most former athletes look for a career in broadcasting after retirement. However, Dorzon, the former running back for the Bucs, replaced his football with a knife instead of a mic.
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One of the most talented prospects, Dorzon went to Jackson State University where he played football before joining the NFL and then the CFL. However, his passion called him in a different direction towards cooking, a passion he shares with his father, who owned a West-Afrcan restaurant in Washington D.C. Dorzon has appeared in several reality cooking competitions on TV, including Tournament of Champions (2022), Guy’s Grocery Games (2019-2021), and The 202 Xtra (2019).
That feeling of panic is so powerful it can stop you in your tracks
Don’t miss @TobiasDorzon competing on #TournamentOfChampions, Sunday @ 8|7c! pic.twitter.com/6p3ImxbNH0
— Food Network (@FoodNetwork) March 15, 2024
The famous chef’s football career started in high school before graduating in 2003 and playing football at Jackson State. In 2008, Bloi-Dei Dorson recorded 70 rushing attempts for 250 yards, averaging 3.6 yards per rush attempt, with 2 TDs. In receiving yards, the running back recorded 4 receptions for 26 yards. In 2003, he recorded 3 rushing TDs, scoring 18 points, per ESPN.
Dorzon was picked as a free agent by the Tennessee Titans, where he only played for a few months. From there, he went on to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a year, before moving to Canada. There, he joined the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and played with the team for two years.
Why Did Tobias Dorzon Ditch Football?
After a short football career, Dorzon found an inherent passion for cooking and made a move toward that career. In an interview with The Undefeated, he revealed that there’s not a single thing he missed about being an athlete. According to him,
“Some people think, from the outside looking in, it (fame and the spotlight) makes you bigger than what you actually are. That spotlight is something that when it touches some people, they never want to lose it. But I felt like I could have the same spotlight doing something I love to do: cooking.”
While he did find the spotlight being a professional athlete, he is much happier being in the spotlight doing the thing he truly genuinely loves. In 2012, Dorzon went to culinary school to light the embers of this fire within him and eventually saw him evolve from being an athlete to a professional chef. Dorzon’s dad had owned a restaurant, where his journey with food had originally begun. And now, he is an executive chef with a star-studded list of celebrity clients, and a food truck, and even spent some time as a restaurant co-owner.
