Judd Dillon Davis (born c. 1973) is an American former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was the 1993 recipient of the

Lou Groza Award The Lou Groza Award is presented annually to the top college football placekicker in the United States by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission. The award is named after former Ohio State Buckeyes and Cleveland Browns player Lou Groza. It has be ...

recognizing the best

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

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 ...

. Davis grew up in

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida. Home to ...

. He attended Forest High School in Ocala, and played high school football for the Forest Wildcats as both punter and

. During his high school senior season, he completed seven of eight field goals attempts, with a long of 49 yards, and averaged over 40 yards per punt. Davis attended the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach

Steve Spurrier Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former American football, football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often ...

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of ...

team from

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

. He was initially a

walk-on Walk On may refer to: Music * ''Walk On'', a 1994 album by Boston, and its title song Albums * ''Walk On'' (Boston album), 1994 * ''Walk On'' (John Hiatt album), 1995 * ''Walk On'' (Randy Johnston album), 1992 *''Walk On'', a 2007 album by ...

player and saw no game action until his 1992 sophomore season. During his 1993 junior season, he completed fifteen of nineteen (78.95%) field goal attempts, and forty-seven of forty-nine (95.92%) extra point attempts. Memorably, he completed four of four attempted field goals and three of three extra point attempts, and providing the Gators' winning margin in their 33–26 victory over the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...

in wet field conditions. In addition to winning the Lou Groza Award in 1993, Davis received first-team All-American honors from United Press International and third-team honors from the Associated Press. He received first-team All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) honors as a senior in 1994. During his three-season college career, Davis set or tied eight school records and three SEC records. In 1994, he surpassed former Gators running back

Emmitt Smith Emmitt James Smith III (born May 15, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. Among other accolades, he is the lea ...

to become the Gators' all-time leading scorer with 225 career points. Including bowl games, Davis completed nearly 87 percent of his field goal attempts (33 of 38) inside of 50 yards. He completed two of four attempts greater than 50 yards, including a career long of 52 year against the

Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford. The first was the football team, which began play in 1893. Originally known as th ...

in 1994. On point-after-touchdown attempts, he completed 129 of 131 extra points, a new team record. Davis graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in American studies in 1995. He was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2011. He now lives in Ocala, Florida and has two children, Connor and Maggie Davis. F Club, Hall of Fame
Gator Greats
Retrieved December 13, 2014. University of Florida Announces 2011 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees
," GatorZone.com (September 22, 2010). Retrieved October 27, 2012.

Career accomplishments

*Won the 1993 Lou Groza Award given annually to the top kicker in nation *Set or tied (8) school records and (3) SEC records *First Team All-American in 1993 *Tied the SEC single-season record for points by a kicker (107) *Broke the all-time SEC record for PATs made in a season (65) and made a school record (81) consecutive PAT attempts *Upon graduation was UF's all-time leading scorer (225) *Inducted into the UF Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011 *Signed with the Seattle Seahawks in 1995

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Judd 1973 births Living people All-American college football players American football placekickers Florida Gators football players Ocala High School alumni Players of American football from Florida Sportspeople from Ocala, Florida

Career accomplishments

See also

References