Ashtyn Davis (born October 10, 1996) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

for the New York Jets of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played college football at

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, where he was also a

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

, and was drafted by the Jets in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Early life and high school

Davis grew up in

Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz ( Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a po ...

and attended

Santa Cruz High School Santa Cruz High School is a comprehensive public school in Santa Cruz, California which originally opened in 1897 and now serves an enrollment of about 1,040 students in grades nine through twelve. It is part of the Santa Cruz City School Distr ...

. He played wide receiver at Santa Cruz and joined the school's track team at the recommendation of his quarterback in order to become a faster football player. Although he was lightly recruited as a football player, Davis began receiving interest from college track coaches late in his senior year after he put up a strong performance

110 metres hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hu ...

in a county track meet despite having never competed in the event before.

College career

Davis originally joined California's track and field team as a walk-on and only joined the football team after a tryout in the spring of his freshman year. In the second half of his redshirt sophomore year, Davis worked his way up the depth chart to become the starting safety alongside

Jaylinn Hawkins Jaylinn Hawkins (born August 25, 1997) is an American football safety for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at California. College career Hawkins attended Buena Park High School, where he was ...

. As a redshirt junior, Davis made 56 tackles with five passes broken up and four interceptions while also returning 24 kicks for 629 yards and a touchdown and was named first-team All- Pac-12 Conference by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

Athlon Sports Parade Media (previously known as AMG/Parade and Athlon Media Group) is a publisher founded in 1967 that is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Nashville's Spencer Hays was its majority stockholder. It was purchased by The Arena Group in 2022 and now ...

and

Pro Football Focus Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United Sta ...

and honorable mention by the conference's coaches. Davis entered his senior year on the watchlist for the

Paul Hornung Award The Paul Hornung Award is a college football award that was created in January 2010 by the Louisville Sports Commission (LSC) with the support of Paul Hornung, a native and resident of Louisville, Kentucky and member of the College Football Hall ...

and rated the third-best safety prospect in the 2020 NFL Draft by ESPN analyst Mel Kiper. Davis was named a finalist for the Burlsworth Trophy. In the season finale against

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

, Davis tied his single-game high in

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

with 8, including the last tackle of the game as part of a goal-line stand. Davis had 55 tackles, two interceptions, four passes defended, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in his senior season. He finished his collegiate career with 166 tackles, seven interceptions, 12 passes defended, two forced fumbles and three fumbles recovered on defense while returning 70 kicks for 1,604 yards and a touchdown and two punts for 33 yards. In track and field as a senior, Davis won the Pac-12 110 meter hurdle title and was named second-team All-American. Davis was also named an NCAA Indoor All-American in the 60 meter hurdles.

Professional career

Davis was selected by the New York Jets with the 68th overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft. The Jets previously traded defensive lineman Leonard Williams to the New York Giants to obtain the pick. In Week 11 against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

, Davis led the team with 12 tackles and recovered a fumble forced by teammate

Marcus Maye Marcus Maye (born March 9, 1993) is an American football free safety for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played for the New York Jets. He played college football at Florida. Maye is a native of Melbourn ...

on wide receiver

Keenan Allen Keenan Alexander Allen (born April 27, 1992) is an American football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at California before leaving after his junior year. He was draft ...

at the goal line during the 34–28 loss. He was placed on injured reserve on December 12, 2020. On September 1, 2021, Davis was placed on injured reserve. He was activated on October 2.

References

External links

California Golden Bears bioNew York Jets bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Ashtyn Living people California Golden Bears football players Players of American football from Santa Cruz County, California Sportspeople from Santa Cruz, California California Golden Bears men's track and field athletes 1996 births American football safeties New York Jets players Santa Cruz High School alumni