Stephen Lamont Davis (born March 1, 1974) 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 ...
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...
who played 11 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).
Early years
A native of
Spartanburg, South Carolina
Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat, seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 38,732 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the 11th-largest c ...
, Davis attended
Spartanburg High School
Spartanburg High School is the public high school in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It is part of Spartanburg County School District No. 7.
The current principal is Vance Jones, a former assistant principal at the school.
The district includes m ...
, where he excelled in football and track. At the 1991 South Carolina state meet, he set a state record in the
100 metres
The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...
with 10.40 seconds. His record stood for 17 years, until
Marcus Rowland ran a 10.35 at the 2008 state meet.
Regarded as the No. 1 recruit in the nation in 1992, Davis was named
''USA Today'' Offensive High School Football Player of the Year.
College career
Davis played three years (1993, 1994, 1995) for
Auburn University
Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...
starting in his sophomore year. He made the All-
SEC team his last two seasons and graduated as the team's fourth all-time leading rusher behind
Joe Cribbs
Joe Stanier Cribbs (born January 5, 1958) is a retired National Football League and United States Football League football running back. He played collegiately at Auburn University along with future NFL backs William Andrews and James Brook ...
,
James Brooks, and
Bo Jackson
Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson (born November 30, 1962) is an American former professional baseball and American football player. He is the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-Star in both baseball and football. Jackson's el ...
. He was also a
letterman
Letterman may refer to:
* Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States
People
* David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host
** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...
for all three seasons.
Davis currently holds the record for rush attempts (1,945), rush yards (8,052) and rushing TDs (65) amongst all Auburn alumni in NFL history.
Professional career
Washington Redskins
Davis was
drafted in the fourth round (103rd overall) in the
1996 NFL Draft
The 1996 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 20–21, 1996, at the Paramount ...
by the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
. Davis was primarily used as a
fullback, and was part of the Redskins' backfield with
Terry Allen. He spent three seasons as a backup and fullback before getting the
starting nod at the start of the
1999 NFL season
The 1999 NFL season was the 80th regular season of the National Football League. The Cleveland Browns returned to the field for the first time since the 1995 season, while the Tennessee Oilers changed their name to "Tennessee Titans," with t ...
. This was Davis' breakout season, when he posted career highs, and ended up representing the
NFC
NFC may refer to:
Psychology
* Need for cognition, in psychology
* Need for closure, social psychological term
Sports
* NFC Championship Game, the National Football Conference Championship Game
* NCAA Football Championship (Philippines)
* Nati ...
in 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 ...
. He led the NFC in yards rushing with 1,405, and led the league in yards per carry (4.8). He was also the league's leading non-kicking scorer, posting 108 points on 17
touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...
s and one
two-point conversion
In gridiron football, a two-point conversion or two-point convert is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point conversion immediately after it scores a touchdown. In a two-point conversion attempt, the team that just scored must run ...
. He continued to post high numbers the following season en route to his second straight Pro Bowl selection. In 2001, Davis rushed for 1,432, breaking the record he had set in 1999 for most rushing yards in a season by a Redskin.
Said
Football Outsiders
Football Outsiders (FO) is a website started in July 2003 which focuses on advanced statistical analysis of the NFL. The site is run by a staff of regular writers, who produce a series of weekly columns using both the site's in-house statistics ...
about Davis's 1999 season, "Stephen Davis was just a monster in 1999 with 1407 yards (second in the league) and 17 touchdowns (nobody else scored more than 13). He led the league with a 60% success rate, and nobody else with at least 75 carries was over 55%."
Carolina Panthers
Davis signed with 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 ...
for the start of the
2003 NFL season
The 2003 NFL season was the 84th regular season of the National Football League (NFL).
Regular-season play was held from September 4, 2003, to December 28, 2003. Due to damage caused by the Cedar Fire, Qualcomm Stadium was used as an emergenc ...
, and was a catalyst in leading the team to
Super Bowl XXXVIII
Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Carolina Panthers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) c ...
. Davis rushed for a career-high 1,444 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. He also finished in the top three for the NFL MVP voting that year. Davis led all rushers in the postseason with 315 yards. Unfortunately for Davis, he suffered an injury early the following season, and was one of fourteen Panthers on
injured reserve
The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...
as the Panthers struggled to a 7-9 record. He was also on the injured list early in the
2005 season, but came off the bench after a few games before being forced to sit out the remainder of the season with nagging knee injuries. Davis was released by the Panthers on March 1, 2006.
St. Louis Rams
On August 24, 2006, Davis worked out with the
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994.
The arr ...
and was offered a one-year contract, which he accepted.
Retirement
On February 27, 2008 Davis signed a one-day contract with Carolina so he could officially retire as a Panther; he did so the next day on February 28, 2008. Later, in 2012, he came forth with reports about suffering from tinnitus and other concussion related side effects.
Davis was the Carolina Panthers' minority coaching intern for the 2010-11 season.
NFL career statistics
Franchise Records
off-season, Davis held at least 8 Panthers records, including:
* Rush attempts, season (318 in 2003), playoff season (64 in 2003)
* Rush yards, playoff season (315 in 2003)
* Yards per carry, playoff career (4.92)
* Yards per game, career (71.9), season (103.1 in 2003), playoff career (78.8)
* 100+ yard rushing games, season (8 in 2003; with
DeAngelo Williams
DeAngelo Chondon Williams (born April 25, 1983) is a former American football running back and professional wrestler. He played college football at Memphis, and was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He s ...
)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Stephen
1974 births
American football running backs
Auburn Tigers football players
Carolina Panthers players
Living people
National Conference Pro Bowl players
Sportspeople from Spartanburg, South Carolina
Players of American football from South Carolina
St. Louis Rams players
Washington Redskins players