Rod Davis (born April 2, 1981) is a professional

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

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

who is currently a free agent. He was selected in the fifth round of the

2004 NFL Draft The 2004 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 2004 at the Theater at ...

by 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 ...

. 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 Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles. Davis has played for 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 ...

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 ...

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

, and

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

Early years

He went on to play at Central Junior High and Gulfport High School where he played for the Admirals, before he went to for Southern Mississippi. In 2002, he won the

Conerly Trophy The C Spire Conerly Trophy is an award given annually to the best college football player in the state of Mississippi by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Voting Sixty media representatives from across Mississippi determine the Trophy recipie ...

as the best college football player in the state of

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

College career

While at Southern Mississippi, Davis recorded four interceptions. Was selected as a First-team All-CUSA as a sophomore and junior. During his junior year, he had career-highs with 122 tackles and 10.5 sacks, he was also selected as the Conference USA defensive player of the year and a Third-team All-American. He finished his college career with 526 tackles and 18.5 sacks.

Professional career

National Football League

Davis has played in 40 career NFL games with the

and

, recording 43 tackles with one forced fumble. In 2004, he played in 14 games and had nine tackles. In 2005 Davis played in 16 games and had 21 tackles and one forced fumble. Davis joined the Panthers and began

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, with Carolina playing in one game and recording one tackle. He then re-joined the Vikings and played in nine games and recorded 12 tackles.

Arena Football League

Davis joined the

of the

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 ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and won his first professional championship when the Soul won

ArenaBowl XXII ArenaBowl XXII was played on July 27, 2008 at New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana (the host of ArenaBowl XXI). It was the 22nd and final championship game in the history of the Arena Football League, original Arena Football League. This was ...

over 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 ...

Canadian Football League

Davis signed with the

on May 6, 2009 and played through the 2011 season. His first start came on August 13, 2009, following injuries to Mark Restelli and to Maurice Lloyd. After becoming a free agent on February 15, 2012, Davis signed with the

on February 16, 2012. After playing only one season with the Alouettes, he was released on February 13, 2013. On February 25, 2013, Davis signed with the

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

References

;Sources
ESPN: Chat with Philadelphia Soul LB Rod Davis - SportsNation
;Notes

External links

*
Profile
at

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Minnesota Vikings profile
at

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Minnesota Vikings profile
at

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Rod 1981 births Living people American players of Canadian football Canadian football linebackers American football linebackers African-American players of American football Minnesota Vikings players Carolina Panthers players Philadelphia Soul players Edmonton Elks players Montreal Alouettes players Calgary Stampeders players Southern Miss Golden Eagles football players Players of American football from Mississippi 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people