Frank Davis (born August 22, 1981) is a former

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

. He was signed by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2006. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

South Florida Bulls The South Florida Bulls (also known as the USF Bulls) are the athletic teams that represent the University of South Florida. USF competes in NCAA Division I and is a member of the American Athletic Conference for all sports besides sailing, w ...

. Davis was also a member of the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

and

Las Vegas Locomotives The Las Vegas Locomotives (called the Locos for short) were a professional American football team based in Las Vegas, Nevada that played in the United Football League. The team played their home games at Sam Boyd Stadium, home field for the Unive ...

Early years

He grew up in

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

and speaks Spanish as a first language. In Panama, he played varsity football for the Jaguars F.C. and doubled as an offensive and defensive lineman. Davis played on the Panamanian under-19 national team at the 2000

NFL Global Junior Championship The NFL Global Junior Championship was played during the week leading up to the Super Bowl, in the same city that is hosting the game. The first game was played in 1997, and only two teams played, Mexico and Europe. Mexico won the first and seco ...

in Atlanta, Ga. The NFL Global Junior Championship has been an official

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

event for the past 10 years. Here he drew the attention of a Panamanian football coach, Guillermo Suarez. Who recruited Frank to play for the Panama Raptors Football team. Suarez became Davis' godfather and helped set him up at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

College career

Following his participation in the 2000

, he was recruited by

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is ...

, and was offered an opportunity to join the Bulls' football program. Davis entered the program as a defensive lineman but was quickly converted to the offensive line. As a redshirt freshman in 2002, Davis played in nine games at left guard and left tackle and had one start that season. As a sophomore, he started five games at left guard, including the final four of the 2003 season. During his junior year, Davis started the first six games until an ankle injury sidelined him until he returned for the final game in 2004. As a senior, Davis was named second-team All-Big East after starting all 12 games (11 at left guard and one at left tackle). In back-to-back seasons, he was a main piece to a strong rushing attack. Davis helped pave the way for RB

Andre Hall Andre Hall (born August 20, 1982) is a former American football running back. He was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at South Florida, where he was the school's all-time leading ...

to set school single-season rushing records in 2004 and 2005, as well as the school's career rushing record.

Professional career

Detroit Lions

Davis was signed by the

following the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with ad ...

, where he went undrafted. Davis surprised many people by earning his way onto the Lions roster out of training camp. Davis played in eleven games, with three starts in 2006. His 2007 season was over before it started as he was placed on IR on September 2, 2007. He was waived by the team on August 30, 2008 during final cuts.

Cincinnati Bengals

A day after being let go by the Lions, Davis was claimed off waivers by the

on August 31, 2008. He was inactive for the first two games of the season and waived on September 16.

Las Vegas Locomotives

Davis signed with the

of the United Football League on August 5, 2009.

References

External links

Just Sports StatsSouth Florida Bulls bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Frank 1981 births Living people Players of American football from New York City Panamanian players of American football American football offensive tackles American football offensive guards South Florida Bulls football players Detroit Lions players Cincinnati Bengals players Las Vegas Locomotives players University of South Florida alumni