Like many students are during Trigg County High School’s “Scholarship Day,” senior Tay’Shaun Linton was surprised — especially when he heard his name called for the 2024 DJ Everett III award.
Attending Thomas More University to play Division II football, he will study sports management and entertainment — with prolific access to a number of internship programs in, and around, the greater Cincinnati area.
The son of Trigg County Class of 1990 alumna Kim Boyd-Linton and William Linton, football was a strong vessel for him to approach education.
In 2022, his 11 ½ sacks broke the school’s single-season record of 11 set by Kewanis Kennedy in 2004. His 21 career sacks broke the school’s career record of 17 set by Jason Wilson from 1986-89.
He was named All-Western Kentucky Conference four straight years as a starter — a rare feat not just for Trigg County, but all of the Jackson Purchase. And this summer, in between part-time shifts with Parker Eye Care, he’s working out in preparation for volunteer workouts and a report date of August 8.
The scholarship is a financial blessing, he said, but it also offers him a chance for mentorship at WKDZ/WHVO and The News Edge if he so chooses.
The scholarship is named in perpetuity for the man responsible of building TV43 in Hopkinsville, of bolstering WKDZ and WHVO Radio to new heights in southwestern Kentucky, and of a biography strong enough for the University of Kentucky Journalism and Kentucky Broadcasters Association halls of fame.
Linton noted it’s the kind of lift that will start him off on the right path.
The Saints compete in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference against Tiffin, Ashland, Findlay, Hillsdale, Northwood, Kentucky Wesleyan, Ohio Dominican, Walsh and Lake Erie — and since 2018 have gone 28-32 with a replete roster of Kentucky and Ohio high school talents.
