Josh Davis (born December 11, 1980) is a former

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 with ...

wide receiver who played in 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 was signed by the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

in 2005. 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 ...

Marshall University Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. The university is currently composed of nine colleges: L ...

. Davis has also been a member of the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

and the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

High school career

Before attending

, Davis was a Wide receiver at

York Comprehensive High School York Comprehensive High School is the sole high school in York County School District 1. Dr. John Tharpe serves as principal. The school is located in York, South Carolina. Due to growth and aging of the original building, a new high school was ...

. He was the All Region football player of the year his Sophomore, Junior and Senior year. He was also the

Special Teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

player of the year his Sophomore, Junior and Senior year. Davis was the Offensive player of the year his senior year and was selected and awarded as one of the top 100 football players in South Carolina. In addition, he lettered in basketball his Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior year. Davis lettered in track for the 100 yard meter for the state of South Carolina. He took first place in the

100-yard dash 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

in the State Championship and second place in the 200 yard dash in the Upper State Championship. He successfully attended

Fork Union Military Academy Fork Union Military Academy (abbreviated as FUMA) is a private, all-male, college preparatory military boarding school located in Fork Union, Virginia. Founded in 1898, Fork Union is considered one of the premier military boarding academies in th ...

after High School and was selected and participated in the North South Shrine game. While at Fork Union Davis had an incredible career as a Wide receiver - coached by John Shuman.

College career

Davis graduated from

in Huntington, WV. He was selected for Freshman football

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n Team. Davis broke the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

record for receptions as a freshman. He was ranked second in NCAA history for career receptions, ranked first in the Mid-American Conference for career receptions and was also ranked in the top 5 for receiving yards in the MAC. Davis made first-team All-MAC as a Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior. He was selected and participated in the East-West Shrine game. Davis was the

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

for the 2004 Fort Worth

Bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

. Davis was awarded and selected as one of the top 100 Black Legend athletes at Marshall University and awarded Offensive player of the game several times throughout his collegiate career.

Professional career

Davis was a wide receiver and punt returner for the

, and

. He was also an outstanding wide receiver in the

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

for the Hamburg Sea Devils in Germany. Davis was part of the legendary team who won the

World Bowl The World Bowl was the annual American football championship game of the World League of American Football/NFL Europe. The World Bowl was played each year from 1991 to 2007 (except 1993 and 1994). The game was conceived as the final of the NFL-r ...

in 2007 during the last

football season. In 2017 he was inducted into the York County Sports Hall of Fame. In 2018 he was inducted into the Marshall University Athletics Hall of Fame.

References

External links

Carolina Panthers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Josh 1980 births Living people African-American players of American football American football wide receivers Carolina Panthers players Hamburg Sea Devils players Marshall Thundering Herd football players Miami Dolphins players Minnesota Vikings players New Orleans Saints players People from York County, South Carolina 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people