Nick Davila (born May 22, 1985) is an

arena football Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

who is currently a free agent. A three-time AFL champion, and three-time MVP, he also played for the

Arizona Rattlers The Arizona Rattlers are a professional indoor American football team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Rattlers were founded in 1992 as an expansion team in the Arena Football League ...

from 2010 to 2016. Davila is of Mexican American descent. He is nicknamed the "Latin Laser". In 2017, he was the quarterbacks and wide receivers coach for the Rattlers of the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams amon ...

(IFL), who went on to win the

2017 United Bowl The 2017 United Bowl was the championship game of the 2017 Indoor Football League season. It was played between the Intense Conference Champion Arizona Rattlers and the United Conference Champion Sioux Falls Storm. The game was played at Denny San ...

. 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 ...

at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

, after playing two seasons at

Chaffey College Chaffey College is a public community college in Rancho Cucamonga, California. The college serves students in Chino, Chino Hills, Fontana, Montclair, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga and Upland. It is the oldest community college in California. History ...

. While at Chaffey, Davila set multiple school records for passing. When he chose Cincinnati to continue his football career, Davila found himself backing up Dustin Grutza. It wasn't until his senior season that Davila got his first start playing against the #7 ranked, and undefeated,

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was a ...

team. Davila lead the Bearcats to a 30-11 upset win over the Scarlet Knights, ending Rutgers hopes at a national championship. After going undrafted in the 2007 NFL Draft, Davila tried out for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

, but never made their team. He was signed by the

Spokane Shock The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won divisio ...

as a

street 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 2008. Davila lead the Shock to a 15-1 regular season record in 2009, leading them to a 74-27 rout of the

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers were a minor league arena football team that played in the AF2. The team was part of the East Division in the American conference. The Pioneers were an expansion team for the league's 2002 season, and were the ...

. With the

af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...

becoming

Arena Football 1 The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in N ...

in 2010, Davila left Spokane and signed with the Rattlers. Davila led them to five West Division championships, five National Conference championships, and three ArenaBowl championships.

Early life

Born the son of Fernando and Marsha Davila, Nick attended

Damien High School Damien High School is an all-boys Roman Catholic high school in La Verne, in the U.S. state of California named for Saint Damien of Molokai. The school had its first graduating class in 1963. Each of Damien's freshmen classes draws from an avera ...

La Verne, California La Verne is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 31,063 at the 2010 census, down from 31,638 at the 2000 census. History The European history of the area dates back to the 1830s when Ygnacio Palomares ...

. While at Damien, Davila was a standout quarterback on the football team, as well as a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

on the

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

team. His junior year, Davila put up what was at the time, the fifth best season in Damien history, throwing for 1,880 yards and 11 touchdowns. This set Davila up with an opportunity to play at an

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

college. His senior year, he accepted a scholarship to play for

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...

. However, in the second game of Davila's senior season of football, he broke his

clavicle The clavicle, or collarbone, is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately 6 inches (15 cm) long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on the left and one on the rig ...

, and Oregon State Head Coach,

Dennis Erickson Dennis Brian Erickson (born March 24, 1947) is an American football coach who most recently served as the head coach for the Salt Lake Stallions of the Alliance of American Football league. He was also the head coach at the University of Idaho ( ...

reduced the size of scholarship he was offering. He was a high school teammate of Ian Johnson.

College career

Chaffey College

After high school, Davila attended

where he could continue playing football, while showing larger schools that he had recovered from his broken clavicle. In his final game, Davila took a heartbreaking loss 14-21, to the

El Camino College El Camino College (Elco or ECC) is a two-year public community college located in the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County known as Alondra Park.All-American seasons, Davila signed with the

to continue his football career. Davila committed to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

on December 15, 2004. Davila wasn't heavily recruited, as he only received a FBS scholarship from Cincinnati.

Cincinnati

Davila joined the

Cincinnati Bearcats The Cincinnati Bearcats are the athletic teams that represent the University of Cincinnati. Though they will move to the Big 12 Conference (XII) the teams are currently a part of the American Athletic Conference (The American), which from 1979 ...

in 2005, and played in five games as the backup quarterback to Dustin Grutza. He completed 58 percent of his passes for 344 yards and four touchdowns. Davila saw the most playing time, of his junior year, against

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

. Davila came in to replace a struggling Grutza, and completed 9-of-15 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns, but it was too little too late, as the Bearcats fell 22-46 to the Cardinals. In 2006, Davila was once again the backup quarterback behind Grutza, despite the chance to win the starting job throughout the summer and fall practices. After seeing some playing time in a few games, Davila got his first start playing against the #7 ranked, and undefeated,

team. Davila lead the Bearcats to a 30-11 upset win over the Scarlet Knights, ending Rutgers hopes at a national championship in 2007. Davila went on to lead the Bearcats to another victory over

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, as they finished with a 7-5 regular season record, making the team bowl eligible. After the team finished strong, head coach

Mark Dantonio Mark Justin Dantonio (born March 9, 1956) is a former American football coach and player. He most recently served as the head football coach at Michigan State University, a position he had held from 2007 to 2019, presiding over one of the most ...

left the program to become the head coach at

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

. The university wasted no time in naming Brian Kelly the team's new head coach. The Bearcats were then extended an offer to the

International Bowl The International Bowl was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) collegiate American football bowl game played in Toronto from 2007 through 2010. During its run, it was the only post-season bowl game played outside the United States ...

against

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, Michigan, Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region a ...

of the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

. Kelly made the choice to start Davila in the bowl game, and Davila lead the Bearcats to a 27-24 victory.

Statistics

Source: *All numbers in Bold text are school records.

Professional career

Prior to the 2007 NFL Draft, Davila was projected to be undrafted by NFLDraftScout.com. He was rated as the 60th-best quarterback in the draft. Davila was not invited to the 2007

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...

in Indianapolis. After going undrafted, Davila attended

minicamp A mini-camp, also spelled minicamp, is a short camp held by National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) teams usually in spring of each year. The camp usually only lasts 3 days, but the length varies by a day or two depending ...

with the

but did not sign a contract.

Spokane Shock

After sitting out the 2007 season, Davila signed with the

for their 2008 season. Davila had a terrific first season of

, as he threw for a franchise-record 2,935 yards and 66 touchdowns, while leading the Shock to a 15-1 regular season record, and a berth in

ArenaCup IX The 2008 AF2 season was the ninth season of the AF2. It was preceded by 2007 and succeeded by 2009. The regular season began on Friday, March 28 and ended on Saturday, July 26. The league champions were the Tennessee Valley Vipers, who beat the S ...

. The Shock lost the ArenaCup to the

Tennessee Valley Vipers Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

55-56. With Davila's stellar season, he received multiple

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

offers, but re-signed with the Shock for 2009 when they were no longer available to him. The Shock beat the

by a score of 74-27 in

ArenaCup X The 2009 AF2 season was the AF2's 10th and final season. It was preceded by 2008. The regular season began on Friday, March 20 and finished on Saturday, July 25. The league champion was the Spokane Shock, who defeated the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pi ...

. In two seasons with the Shock, the team was 38-3 with two championship game appearances, and Davila passed for 6,798 yards and 152 touchdowns.

Arizona Rattlers

2010

With the Shock moving into the

in 2010, and Davila 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 ...

head coach,

Kevin Guy Kevin Guy (born December 6, 1972) is an arena football coach and former wide receiver and defensive back who is the head coach for the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League (IFL). He played his college football at the University of Wes ...

, convinced Davila to sign with the Rattlers, rather than re-signing with the Shock, by convincing Davila that the Rattlers would "win a lot of football games." Coach Guy's statement would turn out to be true, as the Rattlers began to rise with Davila leading the way. In 2010, Davila and the Rattlers finished 2nd in the Western Division right behind their new rivals and Davila's former team the

. They finished the year at 10-6, as the 4th seed heading into the playoffs. In the opening round, Arizona matched up against the Shock on the road, but were knocked out, and Spokane would go on to win

ArenaBowl XXIII NAPA Auto Parts ArenaBowl XXIII was an arena football game between the National Conference champion, Spokane Shock and the American Conference champion, Tampa Bay Storm. The Spokane Shock won the game successfully defending ArenaCup X of the form ...

2011

The following year, Nick set a league record for touchdowns, passing yards, and also earned AFL MVP honors. He and the Rattlers accumulated their best record in franchise history, finishing atop the National Conference at 16-2. As the #1 seed heading into the playoffs, the Rattlers yet again faced the Spokane Shock. This time they were victorious in their rematch with Spokane, defeating them handily 62-33. With the win, Arizona advanced to the Conference Championship to play the

Chicago Rush The Chicago Rush were a professional arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Located immediately northwest of Chicago, as of the 2010 census it had a population of 4,20 ...

. Chicago was one of only two teams to defeat the Rattlers in the regular season, thanks to a game-winning field goal by

Chris Gould Chris Gould (born December 10, 1985) is a former American football placekicker. He currently serves as the assistant special teams coach for the Los Angeles Chargers, and is the brother of San Francisco 49ers placekicker Robbie Gould. Gould ha ...

. In a tightly contested 54-48 shootout, the Snakes squeaked by the Rush, to earn Davila his very first ArenaBowl berth. Arizona would face the American Conference Champion

Jacksonville Sharks The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, playing their home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Beginning in 2017, the Sharks began play as charter members of the National Arena Leag ...

led by veteran quarterback Aaron Garcia. In another tight back and forth contest, the two teams posted one of the best performances in ArenaBowl history. It appeared as though the Rattlers had scored the game-winning touchdown after Nick hit Kerry Reed with a 12-yard reception with 21 seconds left in the game. However, on 4th down Garcia countered, throwing the game-winning touchdown pass to Jeron Harvey as time expired and stunning the Rattlers. With the dramatic finish, the Sharks earned their first ArenaBowl championship, crushing Davila's championship aspirations. The final score ended 73-70.

2012

With the sting of defeat still fresh in their minds, Davila and the Rattlers were determined to make 2012 (his 3rd AFL season) a year of redemption. Nick once again led the Rattlers to a division crown at 13-5, and entered the post-season as the number two seed behind Aaron Garcia and the

San Antonio Talons The San Antonio Talons were a professional arena football team based in San Antonio, Texas. They played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Their home arena was the Alamodome, following their relocation to San Antonio for the 2012 Arena Football ...

. They defeated division rival San Jose in the opening round, narrowly escaping with a 54-48 victory. In the 2nd round they faced off against their other West conference rivals, the

Utah Blaze The Utah Blaze was a professional arena football team based in Salt Lake City, Utah and competed in the West Division (AFL), West Division of the Arena Football League. Home games were played at the EnergySolutions Arena. In 2013, the team did ...

who had managed to upset Garcia's Talons the week before. In again another close contest, the Rattlers held on to defeat the Blaze 75-68, clinching their 2nd straight National Conference Title. Davila and the Rattlers returned to the ArenaBowl and were determined to make sure this trip would have a much different result. Arizona faced the American Conference Champion

Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia TSOP, is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush instrumental arrangements, often feat ...

, who entered the game as the AFL's top ranked team at 15-3 and heavy favorites in the match-up. Nick and his squad were not intimated. In convincing fashion they shredded the Soul, forcing them to commit 3 key turnovers early in the contest and pounding them into submission for a 72-54 victory. Nick Davila was named the MVP of

ArenaBowl XXV ArenaBowl XXV was the 25th edition of the championship in the Arena Football League. The National Conference champion, Arizona Rattlers, defeated the American Conference champion, Philadelphia Soul, 72–54. The game was played on August 10, 201 ...

and the Rattlers earned their 3rd title in franchise history. With the win, the Rattlers redeemed themselves from their heartbreaking last second loss in the title game the previous season.

2013

Davila re-signed with the Rattlers in 2013, signing a two-year contract. He led the Rattlers to their 3rd consecutive ArenaBowl appearance. During

ArenaBowl XXVI ArenaBowl XXVI was the 26th edition of the championship in the Arena Football League. The National Conference champion Arizona Rattlers, defeated the American Conference champion Philadelphia Soul, 48–39. The game was played on August 17, 201 ...

, Davila threw 6 touchdown passes, hitting game MVP,

Rod Windsor Rodrickus Windsor (born April 24, 1985) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Western New Mexico University. College career Rod began his college career at Garden City Community Coll ...

, 10 times (50% of Davila's completions). The Rattlers defeated the

again 48-39, and became the first squad since the 1995 and 96

Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The f ...

, to repeat as back to back Arenabowl Champions. The Rattlers also became the first team in AFL history to repeat as champions the following year against the same opponent.

2014

In 2014, Davila lead the Rattlers to a 15-3 regular season record. He threw for 4,778 yards and 127 touchdowns, completing 66.5% of his passes, and throwing only 11 interceptions, en route to a fourth consecutive appearance for the Rattlers in the ArenaBowl. In

ArenaBowl XXVII ArenaBowl XXVII was the 27th edition of the championship in the Arena Football League. The National Conference champion Arizona Rattlers defeated the American Conference champion Cleveland Gladiators, 72–32. The game was played on August 23, 20 ...

, Davila threw eight touchdowns, went 19-for-24 for 237 yards, and threw only one interception in their 72-32 route of the American Conference champion

Cleveland Gladiators The Cleveland Gladiators were an arena football team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Gladiators played their home games at Quicken Loans Arena, which they shared with the Cleveland Cava ...

. This victory made the Rattlers only the second team to win three consecutive ArenaBowls, and earned Davila the Russell Athletic Offensive Player of the Game award, as well as his second ArenaBowl MVP award.

2015

In 2015, the Rattlers finished at 14-4 with two of their losses coming at the hands of the

San Jose SaberCats The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 (the year in which the team was founded); and until 2015, they belonged to ...

. Davila suffered a lower body injury in week 5 against the Los Angeles Kiss and missed the next four games. Back-ups

B. J. Coleman Bryon Elwyn "BJ" Coleman Jr. (born September 16, 1988) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga after transferring there from Tennessee, and high school football at The Mc ...

and

Shane Boyd Shane Boyd (born September 18, 1982) is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football for the Kentucky Wildcats. Boyd has also ...

filled the void at quarterback by splitting the starts and carrying the Snakes to a 3-1 record until Nick's return. Despite this set back, Arizona managed to win their fifth consecutive division title. In the playoffs the Rattlers crushed the visiting

72-41 in the opening round. It set the stage for a post-season match-up with the SaberCats for the fourth straight season. It was also the 2nd straight season the two teams met in the Western Conference Championship game. Only this time, San Jose hosted the Rattlers due to a better regular season record of 17-1. The game was a back and forth affair until the last minute of the game. Davila made a touchdown pass with 40 seconds left in the game to put the Rattlers up 67-63, but the SaberCats managed a late touchdown with 8 seconds remaining to pull off the exhilarating 70-67 victory. As the new Western Conference champions, San Jose advanced to

ArenaBowl XXVIII ArenaBowl XXVIII was the championship game of the 2015 Arena Football League season. It was played between the American Conference Champion Jacksonville Sharks and the National Conference Champion San Jose SaberCats. The game was played at Stock ...

eliminating Davila and the Rattlers from contending for a fourth straight championship or appearing in a fifth straight championship game.

2016

In 2016, the Rattlers finished with a 13-3 record as Davila threw for 4,198 yards and 110 touchdowns. Entering the post season as the AFL's top ranked seed, the Rattlers faced the

Portland Steel The Portland Steel were a professional arena football team based in Portland, Oregon and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team started as the Portland Thunder, joining the AFL in 2014 as an expansion team along with the Los Ang ...

in their opening round of the playoffs. Portland was simply no match for Arizona's arial assault. the Snakes crushed the Steel 84-40 and set a record for most points scored in franchise history. The win advanced Davila and company to their 6th consecutive National Conference championship game. Together, they faced off with the

, who managed to upset the Los Angeles Kiss on the road 56-52, the previous week. In the game, Davila completed 20 of his 27 passes for 222 yards and seven touchdowns. Offensively, Nick and the Rattlers were just unstoppable. Arizona's defense was also stifling, forcing Cleveland to commit five turnovers, and only allowing 41 points. Cleveland's quarterback Arvell Nelson was never able to get into any sort of rhythm, as he threw several errant passes and two costly interceptions. The Rattlers trounced the Gladiators 82-41, en route to their 5th National Conference Championship and a spot in

ArenaBowl XXIX ArenaBowl XXIX was the championship game of the 2016 Arena Football League season. It was played between the American Conference Champion Philadelphia Soul and the National Conference Champion Arizona Rattlers. The game was played at Gila River A ...

. Davila was named the AFL MVP for the third time in his career in 2016. The Rattlers lost ArenaBowl XXIX to the Philadelphia Soul by a score of 56-42. The Rattlers moved to the

after the 2016 season.

Washington Valor

On March 19, 2018, Davila was assigned to the

Washington Valor The Washington Valor were a professional arena football team based in Washington, D.C. that played in the Arena Football League (AFL) from 2017 to 2019. The team's home arena was the Capital One Arena. The Valor were owned by Monumental Sports an ...

. On April 28, 2018, he suffered a season-ending neck injury.

AFL statistics

''Stats from ArenaFan'':

Coaching career

In December 2016, Davila was announced as the quarterbacks and wide receivers coach of the Rattlers, who had recently left the AFL for the

(IFL). On July 8, 2017, the Rattlers defeated the

Sioux Falls Storm The Sioux Falls Storm are a professional indoor football team based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Storm joined the original Indoor Football League as an expansion team in 1999 as the Sioux Falls Cobras, and first took the field for the 2000 ...

in the

United Bowl United Bowl may refer to: * The championship game of the former United Indoor Football league from 2005 to 2008 * The championship game of the Indoor Football League, which acquired UIF, from 2009 to the present * The proposed name of the 2009 U ...

by a score of 50–41. He left after one season.

References

External links

Arizona Rattlers bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davila, Nick 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Downey, California Players of American football from California American football quarterbacks Cincinnati Bearcats football players Spokane Shock players Arizona Rattlers players American sportspeople of Mexican descent Chaffey Panthers football players Arizona Rattlers coaches Washington Valor players