André N. Davis (born June 12, 1979) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

and

kick returner 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 positio ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

, earning first-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors in 2000. He was selected by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

in the second round of the

2002 NFL draft The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted ...

. Davis also played for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

and

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

in his career. While playing for Virginia Tech Davis appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Early life

Davis was the star on the Niskayuna High School

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

team, where he also played

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

. Due to an argument with the Soccer coach he quit and joined the football team his JR year. He did not begin playing football until his junior year.

College career

Davis accepted a football

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

from

, where he was a teammate of

Michael Vick Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980) is an American college football coach and former player who is the Head coach, head football coach at Norfolk State Spartans football, Norfolk State University. He played quarterback in the National F ...

. He scored the first touchdown for the Hokies in the 2000

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...

game against

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, despite falling 46–29. He was awarded the Today's Top VIII Award as a member of the Class of 2002. For his college accomplishments, he was enshrined in the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Davis was drafted by the

in the second round of the

. Cleveland also selected Andra Davis in fifth round of that draft, requiring each player to have their full name on the back of their jersey. During his first three seasons in Cleveland, he played wide receiver and on special teams. Davis scored on a 99-yard touchdown reception during a game on October 17, 2004, against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

. The reception ties Davis with twelve other players for the NFL record for longest career reception. Davis spent 2005 and 2006 with the

and

respectively. He was then signed by the

for a one-year deal in 2007. Davis started for the Texans, replacing an injured Andre Johnson in Week 3 of the

2007 NFL season The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30. The campaign kicked off with the defending Super Bowl XLI champion Indianapolis Colts defeati ...

. He scored his first touchdown for the Texans on October 1, 2007 - Week 4 - against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

(35-yard touchdown reception). Davis took over for an injured Jerome Mathis as a kick returner. On December 30, in the last game of the 2007 regular season against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

, Davis scored two consecutive touchdowns on kickoff returns, the first for 97 yards and the second for 104. It was reported February 28, 2008, that the Texans had reached an agreement with Davis to stay on the team. He received $16 million over four years, with $8 million guaranteed. On February 18, 2011, the Texans released Davis.

NFL records

* Longest touchdown reception: 99 (2004 vs

) (tied with 12 others) * Most kickoff return touchdowns in a single game: 2 (2007 vs

) (tied with 9 others)

Texans franchise records

* Most career kickoff return yards (2,473) * Most career kickoff return touchdowns (3) (tied with Jerome Mathis) * Longest kickoff return touchdown: 104 (2007) * Most Kickoff Return Touchdowns: 3 (2007) * Kickoff Return Average (season): 30.3 (2007) * Receiving Average (Minimum 32 Receptions) (season): 17.7 (2007)

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

His cousin is Cam Brown who played football for Penn State and for the Miami Dolphins.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Andre 1979 births Living people American football return specialists American football wide receivers Buffalo Bills players Cleveland Browns players Houston Texans players New England Patriots players Virginia Tech Hokies football players People from Niskayuna, New York Sportspeople from Schenectady, New York Players of American football from New York (state) 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen Sportspeople from Middletown, Delaware Players of American football from New Castle County, Delaware