Rashard Markese Davis (born September 14, 1995) is an

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 wi ...

wide receiver and

return specialist A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

for the Memphis Showboats of the

United States Football League 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 ...

(USFL). 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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the institution was renamed Madison Coll ...

. Davis has also been a member of the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in ...

Tampa Bay Bandits The Tampa Bay Bandits were a professional American football team in the United States Football League (USFL) which was based in Tampa, Florida. The Bandits were a charter member of the USFL and was the only franchise to have the same principal o ...

, and

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...

Early life

Davis attended

Charlottesville High School Charlottesville High School is a public high school in the independent city of Charlottesville, Virginia, serving students from 9th to 12th grade. It is a part of Charlottesville City Schools. It is the second largest high school in the region ...

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen C ...

. As a dual threat quarterback, he threw for 1,074 yards and 15 touchdowns completing 61 of 142 attempts and ran for 1,383 yards on 130 rushes and 17 touchdowns his senior year to earn First Team All-District honors as an athlete and Second Team All-District accolades at quarterback. Named the team's MVP after leading Charlottesville its first playoff berth in 10 years. He was named Falcon Club Player of the week on September 19, 2012, for his game against Culpeper, accounting for six scores including four on the ground while racking up 200 yards on nine carries and two passing touchdowns finishing with 122 yards while going 5 for 8. Rashard graduated with Honors from Charlottesville High School in 2012.

College career

Davis played for the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all-s ...

. His first season was in 2013, during which he appeared in 12 games with one start. That season, he tallied 12 receptions for 173 yards. He rushed eight times for 124 yards and a touchdown. Davis set 2 career-bests with a 49-yard run at Delaware (Sept. 28) and a 36-yard touchdown run versus Charlotte (Sept. 21). He also had 8 kick returns for 159 yards and 2 punt returns. As a sophomore he played in 12 games, posting 21 receptions for 254 yards and two receiving touchdowns. He rushed six times for 22 yards and one score. He recorded career highs of five catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns, including a career-long 76-yard touchdown reception in the win at Lehigh (Sept. 6). He also had six kick returns for 102 yards and three punt returns for 44 yards, including a career-long 32-yard return against UD (Sept. 27). He was named to the CAA All-Academic Team. As a junior he played in 11 games, making nine starts at slot receiver posting 39 receptions for 592 yards and six touchdowns. Rashard rushed eight times for 48 yards. He made six returns on special teams, taking five kick returns for 102 yard and one punt return for 16 yards. Ranked eighth in CAA with 53.8 receiving yards per game, while also ranking tied for third in receiving touchdowns and fourth in yards per catch (15.2). He set a career-high 125 receiving yards on four receptions at William & Mary (Oct. 31) and tied a career-high of five receptions three times, at SMU (Sept. 26), at Towson (Oct. 10) and at Delaware (Nov. 14). Davis also recorded a season-long, 71-yard reception for a touchdown against Richmond (Oct. 24). As a senior he played in all 15 games, making 12 starts. He set JMU and CAA single-season record with an FCS-best four punt returns for a touchdown. He had 15 punt returns for a JMU single-season record 426 yards and four scores. He also tallied 42 receptions for 530 yards and three touchdowns and produced a punt return for a touchdown in each of the first two weeks, with a 76-yard touchdown against Morehead State (Sept. 3) and a 75-yard score versus Central Connecticut (Sept. 10). Davis closed the regular season with a 76-yard return for a score against Elon (Nov. 19) and set the program and conference record with a 72-yard return for a touchdown in the FCS quarterfinals versus Sam Houston State (Dec. 9). Had five receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown against Rhode Island (Oct. 29). He tallied five receptions for 57 yards at New Hampshire (Oct. 15) and caught two passes for 53 yards against SHSU. Davis produced three receptions for 52 yards and a touchdown in the NCAA Division I National Championship game versus Youngstown State (Jan. 7). He Had five catches in three games and at least three in nine outings and had four catches over 30 yards, including a season-best 58 yard performance versus Rhode Island. One of two recipients of the Challace McMillin Special Teams Player of the Year. After the season he was named to the ''

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'' All-FCS second-team as an all-purpose player. He was also named CAA Special Teams Player of the Year.

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

On August 13, 2017, Davis signed with the

as an undrafted free agent. He was waived on September 1, 2017. He was signed to the practice squad on October 4, 2017, but was released six days later. He was re-signed again on October 19, 2017. He was released on December 14, 2017. He was re-signed on December 27, 2017. While Davis was on the practice squad, the Eagles defeated the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

Super Bowl LII Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles defeated the American Football Conferen ...

, which earned Davis a

Super Bowl ring The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the team members of the winning team of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl. Since only one Vince Lombardi Trophy is awarded to the team (ownership) itsel ...

. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Eagles on February 7, 2018. On September 1, 2018, Davis was waived by the Eagles and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was released on September 7, 2018.

Oakland Raiders

On November 14, 2018, Davis was signed to the

practice squad. He was released on November 20, 2018. He was re-signed on December 27, 2018. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Raiders on January 1, 2019. He was waived on April 30, 2019.

Kansas City Chiefs

On May 7, 2019, Davis signed with the

. He was waived on August 31, 2019. On October 15, 2019, Davis was drafted with the first overall pick in the skill players round of the

2020 XFL Draft The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social ...

by the DC Defenders, but did not sign with the league.

Tennessee Titans

On November 5, 2019, Davis was signed to the

practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 23, 2019. He was waived on September 5, 2020. He was re-signed to their practice squad on December 24, 2020. He was released on January 6, 2021. He was signed to a futures contract by the Titans on January 11, 2021. He was waived on May 17, 2021.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On September 16, 2021, Davis agreed to a contract 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 c ...

(CFL). Davis spent most of his time on the practice roster and was released December 6, 2021.

New York Jets

On July 26, 2022, Davis signed with the

. He was released on August 16, 2022.

Memphis Showboats

Davis signed with the Memphis Showboats of the USFL on January 11, 2023.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Rashard 1995 births Living people Players of American football from Virginia Sportspeople from Charlottesville, Virginia American football return specialists American football wide receivers James Madison Dukes football players Kansas City Chiefs players New York Jets players Oakland Raiders players Philadelphia Eagles players Tennessee Titans players Tampa Bay Bandits (2022) players