View source for Troy Davis (running back)

{{Short description|American football player (born 1975)}}
{{other people|Troy Davis}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox CFL player
|name          = Troy Davis
|image         = 
|alt           =
|caption       =
|import        = yes
|position1     = Running back
|number        = 28, 32, 23
|birth_date    = {{birth date and age|1975|9|14|mf=y}}
|birth_place   = [[Miami, Florida]], U.S.
|death_date    =
|death_place   =
|height_ft     = 5
|height_in     = 8
|weight_lb     = 183
|high_school   = [[Miami Southridge High School|Miami Southridge]]<br />(Miami, Florida)
|college       = [[Iowa State Cyclones football|Iowa State]]
|NFLDraftedYear  = 1997
|NFLDraftedRound = 3
|NFLDraftedPick  = 62
|NFLDraftedTeam  = [[New Orleans Saints]]
|playing_years1 = {{NFL Year|1997|1999}}
|playing_team1 = [[New Orleans Saints]]
|playing_years2 = {{CFL Year|2001|2005}}
|playing_team2 = [[Hamilton Tiger-Cats]]
|playing_years3 = {{CFL Year|2005|2006}}
|playing_team3 = [[Edmonton Eskimos]]
|playing_years4 = {{CFL Year|2007}}
|playing_team4 = [[Toronto Argonauts]]
|career_highlights    = 
'''NCAA'''
* 2× Consensus [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] ([[1995 College Football All-America Team|1995]], [[1996 College Football All-America Team|1996]])
* [[Big 12 Conference football individual awards|Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year]] (1996)
* First-team All-[[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]] ([[1996 All-Big 12 Conference football team|1996]])
* First-team All-[[Big Eight Conference|Big 8]] ([[1995 All-Big Eight Conference football team|1995]])
* [[Touchdown Club of Columbus#Jim Brown Award|Jim Brown Award]] (1996)
* [[Touchdown Club of Columbus#Chic Harley Award|Chic Harley Award]] (1996)
'''CFL'''
* [[Grey Cup champion]] ([[93rd Grey Cup|2005]])
|CFLAllStar = {{CFL Year|2004}}
|CFLEastAllStar = {{CFL Year|2002|2004}}
|statlabel1    = Attempts
|statvalue1    = 150
|statlabel2    = Rushing yards
|statvalue2    = 446
|statlabel3    = Receptions
|statvalue3    = 36
|statlabel4    = Receiving yards
|statvalue4    = 237
|CFL-archive   = https://web.archive.org/web/20150420233226/http://www.cfl.ca/roster/show/id/345
|CollegeHOF    = 2395
}}

'''Troy Davis''' (born September 14, 1975) is an American former professional [[gridiron football|football]] player who was a [[running back]] in the [[National Football League]] (NFL) and [[Canadian Football League]] (CFL). He played [[college football]] for the [[Iowa State Cyclones football|Iowa State Cyclones]], finishing as a finalist for the [[Heisman Trophy]]. Davis twice earned consensus [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] honors and was the first and one of only two [[NCAA Division I-A]] running backs to rush for over 2,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. In 2016, he was inducted into the [[College Football Hall of Fame]].<ref name=cfbhof/> He played professionally for the [[New Orleans Saints]] of the NFL, and the [[Hamilton Tiger-Cats]], [[Edmonton Eskimos]] and [[Toronto Argonauts]] of the CFL, and was a member of the Eskimos' [[Grey Cup]] championship team in 2005.

==Early life==
Davis was born in [[Miami, Florida]].  He attended [[Miami Southridge High School]], where he was a standout [[high school football]] player for the Southridge Spartans.

He became the first [[Miami-Dade County Public Schools|Dade County]] football player to ever rush for 2,000 yards.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sports/2016/09/03/troy-davis-enters-register-hall-fame/89783406/|title=Run to Glory: Troy Davis enters Register Hall of Fame|website=[[The Des Moines Register]]}}</ref>

He had offers to play at [[Florida Gators football|Florida]] and [[Florida State Seminoles football|Florida State]] among others but eventually chose [[Iowa State Cyclones football|Iowa State]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amestrib.com/sports/football-legend-almost-wasn-t-how-troy-davis-overcame-tough-freshman-year-become-all-american|title=Football: The legend that almost wasn't, how Troy Davis overcame a tough freshman year to become an All-American|access-date=2017-02-20|archive-date=2018-10-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020224620/http://www.amestrib.com/sports/football-legend-almost-wasn-t-how-troy-davis-overcame-tough-freshman-year-become-all-american|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==College career==
Davis attended Iowa State University, and played for the [[Iowa State Cyclones football]] team from 1994 to 1996. He played sparingly his freshman year under [[Jim Walden (American football)|Jim Walden]] but flourished under new head coach [[Dan McCarney]] during Davis's final two seasons. Davis set numerous [[Iowa State Cyclones football statistical leaders#Rushing|Cyclone team records]], including most career rushing yards (4,382), total rushing yards in a single season (2,185), rushing yards in a game (378, vs. [[Missouri Tigers football|Missouri]], rushing attempts in a game (53, vs. [[Northern Iowa Panthers football|Northern Iowa]], most rushing touchdowns in a game (5, vs. [[UNLV Rebels football|UNLV]] and vs. Northern Iowa), most 100-yard rushing games in a season (11) and career (21), most 200-yard rushing games in a season (5) and career (9), and most consecutive 100-yard rushing games (17, during 1995 and 1996 seasons), and most consecutive games scoring a touchdown (10, during [[1995 Iowa State Cyclones football team|1995]] and [[1996 Iowa State Cyclones football team|1996]] seasons).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cyclones.com/news/2016/1/8/210620085.aspx|title=Troy Davis To Enter College Football Hall Of Fame}}</ref> He also held the [[Iowa State Cyclones football]] record for most career rushing touchdowns (36) and was tied for first for most career total touchdowns (38). He became the first running back in [[NCAA Division I-A]] (now [[Football Bowl Subdivision]]) history to gain 2,000 yards in two different seasons. During his three seasons at ISU, the Cyclones finished last in the Big Eight standings in his sophomore and junior seasons and last in the Big 12 North division standings his senior year.

In 1996, Davis was selected as the [[Big 12 Conference football individual awards|Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016 |title=2016 Big 12 Football |url=https://static.big12sports.com/custompages/pdfs/football/16guide/2016fbguide.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505042853/https://static.big12sports.com/custompages/pdfs/football/16guide/2016fbguide.pdf |archive-date=5 May 2022 |access-date=14 February 2023 |website=big12sports.com}}</ref> He was recognized as a consensus first-team [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] at running back in [[1995 College Football All-America Team|1995]] and [[1996 College Football All-America Team|1996]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/awards/all-america-1990-1999.html|title=Consensus All-America Teams (1990-1999) - College Football at Sports-Reference.com}}</ref>

Davis finished fifth in voting for the [[Heisman Trophy]] in [[1995 NCAA Division I-A football season#Heisman Trophy voting|1995]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/awards/heisman-1995.html|title=1995 Heisman Trophy Voting - College Football at Sports-Reference.com}}</ref>  In [[1996 NCAA Division I-A football season#Heisman Trophy voting|1996]], he narrowly finished second to winner [[Danny Wuerffel]]. He won three out of four Heisman regions, but lost badly in the South region.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/awards/heisman-1996.html|title=1996 Heisman Trophy Voting - College Football at Sports-Reference.com}}</ref> He was also nosed out for the [[Doak Walker Award]] by another Big 12 running back, [[Byron Hanspard]] of [[Texas Tech Red Raiders football|Texas Tech]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smu.edu/doakwalkeraward/|title=Doak Walker Award - SMU}}</ref>  Hanspard edged Davis for the award despite Hanspard earning a 0.00 grade point average during his final season playing for Texas Tech.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

He did however win the [[Touchdown Club of Columbus#Jim Brown Award|Jim Brown Award]] and the [[Touchdown Club of Columbus#Chic Harley Award|Chic Harley Award]] given to the top running back and best college football player respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tdccolumbus.com/honorees.html|title=Past Honoreess :: Touchdown Club of Columbus}}</ref>

He was inducted into the [[Iowa State Cyclones Hall of Fame|Iowa State Hall of Fame]] in 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sports/college/iowa-state/football/2016/09/13/former-cyclones-great-troy-davis-returns-ames/90296150/|title=Former Cyclones great Troy Davis returns to Ames|website=[[The Des Moines Register]]}}</ref>

Davis was inducted into the [[College Football Hall of Fame]] in 2016.<ref name=cfbhof>{{College Football HoF|id=2395}}</ref>

===College statistics===
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! colspan=3| !!colspan=4| Rushing !!colspan=3|Receiving
|-
! Season !! Team !! GP !! Att !! Yds !! Avg !! TD !! Rec !! Yds !! TD
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[1994 NCAA Division I-A football season|1994]] || [[1994 Iowa State Cyclones football team|Iowa State]] || 9 || 35 || 187 || 5.3 || 0 || 6 || 35 || 0
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[1995 NCAA Division I-A football season|1995]] || [[1995 Iowa State Cyclones football team|Iowa State]] || 11 || 345 || 2,010 || 5.8 || 15 || 14 || 159 || 1
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[1996 NCAA Division I-A football season|1996]] || [[1996 Iowa State Cyclones football team|Iowa State]] || 11 || 402 || 2,185 || 5.4 || 21 || 13 || 64 || 0
|- style="text-align:center;"
! || Career
! 31 || 782 || 4,382 || 5.6 || 36 || 33 || 258 || 1
|-
| colspan="15"  style="font-size:8pt; text-align:center;"|Reference:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/troy-davis-4.html|title=Troy Davis College Stats - College Football at Sports-Reference.com}}</ref>
|}

==Professional career==

Davis elected to forgo his senior season of eligibility and declared for the [[1997 NFL draft]]. He was drafted in the third round (62nd overall) by the [[New Orleans Saints]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=1997 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1997/draft.htm |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cyclones.com/sports/2015/3/2/GEN_20140101208.aspx|title=Troy Davis- Hall of Fame Class of 2007 - Iowa State Athletics}}</ref>  During his three seasons with the Saints Davis started 11 games and rushed for 446 yards on 150 attempts.

Davis left the Saints after the 1999 season and was drafted by the [[Birmingham Thunderbolts]] of the [[XFL (2001)|XFL]], but was cut in training camp.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neworleansprofootball.com/2002/07/where-are-they-now-1999-saints-part-one.html|title=Where Are They Now? The 1999 Saints - Part One}}</ref>

Davis then signed with the [[Hamilton Tiger-Cats]] of the [[Canadian Football League|CFL]] as a running back and kick-returner for the [[2001 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season|2001 season]]. In 2004, he led the league in rushing and set the franchise record with 1,656 yards.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ticats.ca/the-all-rivalry-team-davis-bennett/|title=The All-Rivalry Team: Davis/Bennett - Hamilton Tiger-Cats}}</ref> He was traded mid-season in [[2005 CFL season|2005]] to the [[Edmonton Eskimos]] in exchange for a package headlined by [[Brock Ralph]], [[Tay Cody]], and the first overall draft pick in the [[2006 CFL Draft|2006 Draft]]. He was able to play a key role in leading the Eskimos to winning the [[93rd Grey Cup]] that year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.esks.com/2009/07/05/lumsden-confident-he-ll-return-from-injury/|title=Lumsden confident he'll return from injury|date=5 July 2009}}</ref> On February 23, 2007, the Eskimos released Davis. He was later signed to the [[Toronto Argonauts]] practice roster on September 25, 2007. Davis was initially released by the Argonauts on October 17, 2007, but rejoined their practice roster on October 23, 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.argonauts.ca/2008/05/23/argos-and-community-warm-up-to-winters/|title=ARGOS AND COMMUNITY WARM UP TO WINTERS|date=23 May 2008}}</ref>

===NFL statistics===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="4" | &nbsp;
! colspan="6" | Rushing
! colspan="4" | Receiving
! colspan="1" | Fumbles
|-
! Season !! Team !! {{tooltip|GP|Games played}}  !! {{tooltip|GS|Games started}} !! {{tooltip|Att|Rushing attempts}} !! {{tooltip|Yds|Rushing yards}} !! {{tooltip|Avg|Yards per rushing attempt}} !! {{tooltip|YdsG|Yards per game}} !! {{tooltip|Lng|Longest rushing attempt}} !!{{tooltip|TD|Rushing touchdowns}} !! {{tooltip|Rec|Receptions}} !! {{tooltip|Yds|Receiving yards}} !! {{tooltip|Lng|Longest reception}} !! {{tooltip|TD|Receiving touchdowns}} !! {{tooltip|Fum|Fumbles}} 
|-
| [[1997 NFL season|1997]] || [[1997 New Orleans Saints season|NO]] || 16 || 7 || 75 || 271 || 3.6 || 16.9 || 20 || - || 13 || 85 || 18 || - || 3 
|-
| [[1998 NFL season|1998]] || [[1998 New Orleans Saints season|NO]] || 14 || 2 || 55 || 143 || 2.6 || 10.2 || 14 || 1 || 16 || 99 || 19 || - || 1 
|-
| [[1999 NFL season|1999]] || [[1999 New Orleans Saints season|NO]] || 16 || 2 || 20 || 32 || 1.6 || 2.0 || 7 || - || 7 || 53 || 20 || - || 1
|- class="sortbottom" style="background:#eee;"
!colspan="2"|Career
! 46 || 11 || 150 || 446 || 3.0 || 9.7 || 20 || 1 || 36 || 237 || 20 || - || 5
|-
| colspan="15"  style="font-size:8pt; text-align:center;"|'''Reference:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/D/DaviTr00.htm?redir|title=Troy Davis Stats - Pro-Football-Reference.com|website=[[Pro-Football-Reference.com]]}}</ref>'''
|}

===CFL statistics===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="3" | &nbsp;
! colspan="6" | Rushing
! colspan="3" | Receiving
|-
! Season !! Team !! {{tooltip|GP|Games played}} !! {{tooltip|Att|Rushing attempts}} !! {{tooltip|Yds|Rushing yards}} !! {{tooltip|Avg|Yards per rushing attempt}} !! {{tooltip|YdsG|Yards per game}} !! {{tooltip|Lng|Longest rushing attempt}} !!{{tooltip|TD|Rushing touchdowns}} !! {{tooltip|Rec|Receptions}} !! {{tooltip|Yds|Receiving yards}} !! {{tooltip|TD|Receiving touchdowns}}
|-
| [[2001 CFL season|2001]] || [[2001 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season|HAM]] || 18 || 96 || 527 || 5.5 || 29.3 || 75 || 6 || 14 || 122 || - 
|-
| [[2002 CFL season|2002]] || [[2002 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season|HAM]] || 18 || 230 || 1,143 || 5.0 || 63.5 || 74 || 6 || 27 || 221 || 1 
|-
| [[2003 CFL season|2003]] || [[2003 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season|HAM]] || 18 || 227 || 1,206 || 5.3 || 67.0 || 34 || 5 || 40 || 458 || - 
|-
| [[2004 CFL season|2004]] || [[2004 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season|HAM]] || 18 || 324 || 1,628 || 5.0 || 90.4 || 58 || 10 || 40 || 250 || - 
|-
| [[2005 CFL season|2005]] || [[2005 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season|HAM]] ||  || 176 || 792 || 4.5 || 44.0 || 54 || 3 || 25 || 142 || - 
|-
| [[2005 CFL season|2005]] || [[2005 Edmonton Eskimos season|EDM]] ||  || 64 || 359 || 5.6 || 19.9 || 30 || 2 || 17 || 157 || - 
|-
| [[2006 CFL season|2006]] || [[2006 Edmonton Eskimos season|EDM]] || 18 || 190 || 1,060 || 5.6 || 58.9 || 44 || 4 || 67 || 546 || - 
|-
| [[2007 CFL season|2007]] || [[2007 Toronto Argonauts season|TOR]] || 18 || 6 || 24 || 4.0 || 1.3 || 10 || - || - || - || - 
|- class="sortbottom" style="background:#eee;"
!colspan="2"|Career
! 144 || 1,313 || 6,739 || 5.1 || 46.8 || 75 || 36 || 230 || 1,896 || 1
|-
| colspan="12"  style="font-size:8pt; text-align:center;"|'''Reference:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.totalfootballstats.com/PlayerRB.asp?id=965|title=Troy Davis College & Pro Football Statistics - Totalfootballstats.com}}</ref>'''
|}

==Personal life==
Davis is the brother of [[Darren Davis (Canadian football)|Darren Davis]], who played running back at Iowa State beginning in Troy's final season until 1999. Darren ran for over 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons before ending his career second in career rushing yards behind his older brother.

==See also==
* [[List of college football yearly rushing leaders]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{cfbhof|id=2395|name=Troy Davis}}
{{1995 NCAA Division I-A College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{1996 NCAA Division I-A College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{Big 12 Conference football Player of the Year navbox}}
{{Saints1997DraftPicks}}
{{CFL rushing yardage leaders}}
{{93rd Grey Cup}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Troy}}
[[Category:1975 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:All-American college football players]]
[[Category:American football running backs]]
[[Category:Canadian football running backs]]
[[Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Edmonton Elks players]]
[[Category:Hamilton Tiger-Cats players]]
[[Category:Iowa State Cyclones football players]]
[[Category:New Orleans Saints players]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Miami]]
[[Category:Miami Southridge Senior High School alumni]]
[[Category:Toronto Argonauts players]]
[[Category:Players of Canadian football from Miami]]