Along with eight other members of the 2023 class, former Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday afternoon. Thomas looked visibly shaken and emotional as he thanked Junior Seau, a friend and former teammate, during his speech.

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On Saturday afternoon, Thomas was the first to speak of all the inductees. Jimmy Johnson, his former coach, welcomed him, and he praised his family, coaches, former teammates, former rivals, and Miami Dolphins supporters. He discussed his journey from a small Texas community to being given the chance by Jimmy Johnson to make his Miami debut as a rookie.

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Zach Thomas’ speech at the Hall of Fame featured some touching sections. But when Thomas paid tribute to Junior Seau near the end of his address, that was when it got the most emotional. Thomas claimed that Seau gave him the motivation to join the NFL. Later, the two played together with the Miami Dolphins. Seau and Thomas played together from 2003-2005. 

“His poster hung on my wall in college and he was everything I wanted to be as a football player. He was my inspiration, and he became my teammate and friend Though he’s not here physically, he’s here in spirit and in a bust in that building behind me,” Thomas said of Seau, who passed away in 2015. “I love you, buddy.” 

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Thomas played in a manner similar to Seau. Thomas, a strong inside linebacker, made 1,734 tackles over the course of his 13-year career. During his 20-year career, Seau, the 1992 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, recorded 1,847 tackles.

Jimmy Johnson, a 2021 Hall of Fame inductee, and Thomas’ former Dolphins coach, paid an emotional tribute to Thomas during his address as well. “He’s the hardest working player that I ever coached, with extreme talent,” Johnson said while presenting Thomas. “He made every play. He made every tackle.”