Leonard Barnett Davis (born September 5, 1978) is an American former college and professional football player who was an offensive lineman for twelve seasons 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 played college football for the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, and was recognized as a consensus All-American. Davis was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals with the second pick overall of the 2001 NFL Draft, and also played professionally for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

, Detroit Lions and

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

of the NFL.

Early years

Leonard grew up in

Wortham, Texas Wortham is a town in Freestone County, Texas, United States. The population was 980 at the 2020 census. Geography Wortham is located in the northwest corner of Freestone County at (31.788472, –96.462209). Texas State Highway 14 runs through ...

. He is the only child of L.A. and Sammie Lee Davis, but has 21 half-brothers and half-sisters (L.A. had 11 children from a previous marriage, while Sammie Lee had 10 children from a previous marriage). He attended Wortham High School, where he led his Bulldogs

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

team to the state championship in 1997. In football, he received

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 honors playing defense and offense for a school with fewer than 150 students. He also lettered in track.

College career

Davis received an athletic scholarship to attend the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...

, arriving in

John Mackovic John Mackovic (born October 1, 1943) is an American football coach. He is currently the head coach of the Italy national American football team, which was formed to compete in the EFAF European Championship. Previously, Mackovic served as the he ...

's final season, with the intention of playing at defensive tackle and even starting three games. He was moved to the

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...

after Mack Brown was named the new head coach. He played

left tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...

in his last two years. During his career, he blocked for Heisman Trophy winner

Ricky Williams Errick Miron (born Errick Lynne Williams Jr.; May 21, 1977) is an American former football running back who played 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and one season in the Canadian Football League (CFL). After playing baseball ...

and Hodges Mitchell. Following his senior season in 2000, he was a first-team All-

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...

selection, and was recognized as a consensus first-team

n. He was also a finalist for the

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman in the United States as adjudged by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named an All-Am ...

on two occasions.

Professional career

Arizona Cardinals

Davis was selected second overall in the 2001 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals, and was named the starter at

right guard Right Guard is an American brand of deodorant and shower gel that is manufactured and sold by Thriving Brands LLC. It is the second largest brand in the male deodorant category in the United States. Right Guard was introduced in 1960 by The Gi ...

as a rookie. The next year injuries on the

forced the team to move him to

right tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, ...

. He was moved back to

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 ...

in 2003. In 2004, after

Dennis Green Dennis Earl Green (February 17, 1949 – July 21, 2016) was an American football coach. During his National Football League (NFL) career, Green coached the Minnesota Vikings for 10 seasons. He coached the Vikings to eight playoff appearances ...

was named the new head coach, he was moved to

where he would remain for three seasons, even though he struggled at the position and was one of the highest penalized players in the league. On February 17, 2007, the Cardinals told Davis that they would not name him a

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

or transition player, clearing him to become an

unrestricted 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 ...

Dallas Cowboys

On March 4, 2007, Davis signed with the

for a seven-year, $49.6 million contract with $18.75 million guaranteed, who were looking to replace the retired Marco Rivera. At the time, the contract was criticized in the media, for the amount of salary cap space being assigned to a player that would play

and that had an average performance in previous years. According to ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'', Davis was the highest-paid NFL player and 19th overall athlete in the 12-month period ending in June 2007, earning $25.4 million. He was named the starter at

and would flourish in Dallas by going to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

in his first three seasons. He had an exceptional year in 2007, as he received

and

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

honors for the first time in his career. The Cowboys finished 13-3 and won the NFC East division, but suffered a disappointing first round playoff loss against the New York Giants (who would go on to win the Super Bowl). In 2009, the Cowboys again won the division and also their first playoff game in 13 seasons. He was released on July 28, 2011, due to declining play and the team's lack of salary cap room.

Detroit Lions

On November 7, 2011, he signed a one-year deal with the Detroit Lions. After joining the team midway through the season, he was declared inactive for every game with the Lions.

San Francisco 49ers

On July 26,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, Davis signed a one-year deal with the

as a

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 ...

. He was a backup and was a part of the team that reached

Super Bowl XLVII Super Bowl XLVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

. In the game, he contributed on special teams, but the 49ers fell to the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

by a score of 34–31.

Personal life

Davis is the bassist in the heavy metal band Free Reign with former Cowboys' teammates

Marc Colombo Marc Edward Colombo (born October 8, 1978) is a former American football offensive tackle and coach who was most recently the offensive line coach for the New York Giants. He played eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the ...

and Cory Procter with guitarist Justin Chapman. His older half-brother Charlie Davis played defensive tackle in the NFL and the

USFL The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

. Davis now coaches at Chandler High school (Arizona)

References

External links

Detroit Lions bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Leonard 1978 births Living people All-American college football players American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles Arizona Cardinals players Dallas Cowboys players Detroit Lions players National Conference Pro Bowl players San Francisco 49ers players Texas Longhorns football players