BATON ROUGE, La. – Funeral services will be held Monday for former LSU running back/linebacker Donnie Daye, 76, who died Friday at St. Joseph Hospice Hospital in Baton Rouge.
Daye, an all-state athlete in football and track at Ferriday (La.) High School, played football at LSU from 1957-60, and he was a member of the Tigers’ 1958 national championship team. He led LSU in tackles with 50 stops in 1959, and he was selected to play in the Blue-Gray college all-star game at the end of the 1960 season.
Daye, who was offered a contract by the AFL’s Houston Texans in 1961, worked as offensive coordinator at New Mexico State before entering the oil business, where he enjoyed a successful career with D& D Drilling Co.
Daye is survived by his wife, Penny Dean Daye of Baton Rouge; two brothers, three sons, two grandsons, three granddaughters and two great-grandsons. His son, Daryl, played football at LSU in the mid-1980s and currently works as the defensive coordinator at Northwestern State in Natchitoches, La.
Monday’s funeral service will be held at First Baptist Church of Ferriday at 10:30 a.m. Graveside service will follow at 3 p.m. at Bellevue Memorial Park Cemetery in Opelousas, La., under the direction of Young’s Funeral Home.