Austin Davis

Austin Davis

refer to caption

Davis with the St. Louis Rams in 2013
No. 7 Cleveland Browns
Position: Quarterback
Personal information
Date of birth: (1989-06-02) June 2, 1989
Place of birth: Meridian, MS
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight: 221 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school: Collinsville (MS) West Lauderdale
College: Southern Mississippi
Undrafted: 2012
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
  • Freshman All-Conference USA selection (2008)
  • CollegeFootballNews.com Freshman All-American honorable mention (2008)
  • Burlsworth Trophy winner 2011
  • Conerly Trophy winner (2011)
Career NFL statistics as of 2015
Pass Attempts: 378
Pass Completions: 236
Percentage: 62.4
Passing Yards: 2,548
TD–INT: 13–12
Passer Rating: 80.4
Player stats at NFL.com

Austin Davis (born June 2, 1989) is an American football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). A walk-on to the Southern Miss Golden Eagles program, Davis redshirted the 2007 season and became the starter a year later. He ended the year with a combined total of 15 school records for both game and single-season marks and led the Golden Eagles to a bowl game victory in the 2008 New Orleans Bowl. He was selected to the Freshman All-Conference USA team and earned a Freshman All-American honorable mention by College Football News for 2008.

Early years

Davis was born on June 2, 1989. Davis attended West Lauderdale High School in Collinsville, Mississippi, where he was coached by Stan McCain. He would become the winningest quarterback in the school's history. As a senior, Davis threw for 1,100 yards passing with 15 touchdowns, rushed for 600 yards with six touchdowns and recorded a 67 percent completion rating. He was a four-year letterwinner and was named team MVP. During his career, Davis received all-area honors, was named best offensive back in the district and played in the Mississippi/Alabama All-Star game.[1]

Davis' cousin, Jason Smith, had a nine-year career in Major League Baseball[2] and his brother, Bo, played baseball for the San Diego Padres organization and helped lead the Southern Miss Golden Eagles to their first College World Series appearance. Davis was also an all-state baseball player in high school.[2]

College career

Davis' only football scholarship offer came from Southeastern Louisiana of the Football Championship Subdivision.[3] He chose instead to attend the University of Southern Mississippi on a baseball scholarship.[4]

Davis was a walk-on to the Southern Miss football program and redshirted the 2007 season.[1][5] For 2008, Davis was named the starting quarterback by head coach Larry Fedora and became the first freshman to be named the starting quarterback at Southern Miss since Tommy Waters in 1991.[6] Davis began the season with five 200-yard passing games, more than any other Southern Miss quarterback has put together, and nine altogether for the season, tying a school record for most in a season.[1] For the year, Davis set a new school record with 3,128 passing yards and broke Brett Favre's school record for most touchdown passes by a freshman with 23.[7] He ended the year with a combined total of 15 school records for both game and single-season marks,[8] which included most passing yards in a game (461) and most rushing touchdowns in a contest (5) as well as total offense for a season (3,323).[6] Davis was ranked 16th nationally in total offense (279.7) and 52nd in passing efficiency (128.6) in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). His total offense average was the highest among freshmen quarterbacks in the country, ahead of the likes of Kellen Moore of Boise State (265.9) and Robert Griffin of Baylor (244.5). In the 2008 New Orleans Bowl, Davis threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns and became the first freshman quarterback to lead the Golden Eagles to a bowl game victory.[1] Davis was named to the All-Conference USA freshman team and a freshman All-American honorable mention by CollegeFootballNews.com.[9][10] Before the 2009 season, Davis was named on the Manning Award watch list.[11]

Davis got off to another great start in the 2009 season[12] by completing 108-156 passes (69%) for 1,165 yards and 10 touchdowns against just 2 interceptions. He gained some national notoriety following a 35-28 loss to nationally ranked Kansas, in which Davis matched All-American candidate Todd Reesing yard for yard.[13] However, his promising start was cut short by a broken foot suffered in the fifth game of the season against UAB.[14]

Davis returned in 2010 and put up another good season, throwing for 3,103 yards with 20 touchdowns against just 6 interceptions while running for another 452 yards and 10 touchdowns.[12] On November 30, Southern Miss went on the road to face the eventual C-USA and Liberty Bowl champion Central Florida and their highly rated defense. Davis responded by completing 21-34 passes for 264 yard and 4 scores, leading the Golden Eagles to a road upset over the ranked Knights.[15] He delivered an encore the next week in an emotional game against the Houston Cougars. Following the shooting of three teammates, Davis responded with the best game of his career, completing 24 of 31 passes for 293 yards and 2 scores while running for 111 yards and 4 more scores as Southern Miss topped Houston 59-41.[16] In the Papajohns.com Bowl against Louisville, Davis passed Brett Favre on the schools passing touchdown record with a 32-yard pass to Quentin Pierce in the first quarter. Davis would go on to throw another touchdown as well as catch one in the 31-28 loss.[17]

Heading into his senior season, Davis had either broken or was on the verge of breaking nearly every passing record in Southern Miss history. He passed Favre's yardage record in the second game of the season at Marshall.[18] Davis had arguably his best career performance on October 8, at Navy.[19] He completed 21 of his 23 passes for 283 yards and 3 scores as well as running for 75 yards and another score, posting a QB rating of 237.7. Davis led the Golden Eagles to a C-USA Eastern Division championship and a spot in the conference championship game against undefeated and 6th ranked Houston and their record setting QB Case Keenum. Despite being a 15-point underdog and being overshadowed by Keenum prior to the game, Davis outplayed Keenum, connecting on 17 of 34 passes for 276 yards and 4 touchdowns as he led Southern Miss to one of the biggest wins in school history.[20] Davis finished his career with a 24-17 victory in the Hawaii bowl over Nevada.[21] Davis' last pass as a collegiate QB was a touchdown in the final minutes to secure the win. Davis ended the 2011 season throwing for 3,496 yards and 30 touchdowns, both school records, while also rushing for 352 yards and four touchdowns.[22] At the conclusion of his senior season he was named the winner of the Conerly Trophy, an award given annually to the best college football player in the state of Mississippi by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.

His final stats were: 933-1527 (61.1%) for 10,898 yards, 83 touchdowns against just 27 interceptions. He also ran the ball 460 times for 1,375 yards and 25 touchdowns. He also caught 2 passes for 25 yards and a touchdown. Davis accounted for 109 touchdowns in his four-year career.[23]

Prior to the 2012 NFL Draft, Bleacher Report's Tyler Ward named Davis as one of his eleven potential late-round sleepers in the draft.

Professional football career

St. Louis Rams

Davis with the Rams during training camp 2013.

Davis went undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft and signed a free agent deal with the St. Louis Rams. On August 30, 2013, Davis was cut by the Rams.[24]

Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins signed Davis to their practice squad on September 10, 2013.[25][26]

Second Stint with Rams

Davis re-signed with the Rams on October 22, 2013, after an injury to Sam Bradford.[27] In the first week of the 2014 NFL season against the Minnesota Vikings, Davis entered the game at the start of the second half in relief of starter Shaun Hill. A week later, due to Hill's injury, Davis made his NFL starting debut on September 14, in a winning effort against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Following the Rams' 28-26 upset win over the defending champion Seattle Seahawks in Week 7, former All-Pro quarterback and legend Brett Favre tabbed Davis as a potential Tom Brady or Kurt Warner of the future, both of whom won Super Bowls despite a bleak start to their NFL careers. During the victory, Davis completed 17 of 20[28] passes, the best completion percentage in NFL history against a defending Super Bowl champion; the former Southern Miss QB also added 152 passing yards and two touchdowns, one of which ultimately sealed their victory after Davis successfully led an 80-yard drive.

After 2 interceptions and a lost fumble in the 4th quarter against the Arizona Cardinals in early November, Davis was benched in favor of Hill.[29]

Cleveland Browns

On September 7, 2015, Davis signed with the Cleveland Browns.[30] He signed a two-year, $4.137 contract extension on September 30.[31]

He played in relief of an injured Josh McCown in the Week 12 game against the Baltimore Ravens. He completed 7 of 10 passes for 77 yards, drove for a game-tying touchdown, and led the Browns into position for a game-winning field goal, but the team lost when the field goal was blocked and returned for a touchdown.[32] After McCown was ruled out for the rest of the season, Davis was named the Browns starter for the following week over Johnny Manziel.[33] Following a 37–3 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Davis was replaced as starter by Manziel.[34] He played again in the season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers after Manziel was ruled out with a concussion, going 24 for 46 with no touchdowns and a pair of interceptions in a 28–12 loss.[35]

Professional baseball career

Davis was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 2012 MLB Draft in the 31st round, even though he only played baseball for one year in 2007.[36] Davis ultimately decided to pursue a career in the NFL instead and has never played at any level of MLB.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "2009 Media Guide" (PDF). University of Southern Mississippi. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
  2. 1 2 "Austin Davis, Southern Mississippi, NFL Draft". CBS Sports. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  3. ↑ Bloomquist, Bret (October 28, 2011). "UTEP football: Southern MIss Eagles return to winning ways again". El Paso Times. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  4. ↑ Jordan, Jason (October 23, 2014). "HS coach says Rams QB Austin Davis went a year without throwing a pick until the last practice". USA Today. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  5. ↑ Cleveland, Rick (2009-09-03). "Golden Eagles poised for big year". The Hattiesburg American. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
  6. 1 2 "Davis earns C-USA All-Academic honors". The Meridian Star. 2008-12-04. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
  7. ↑ Fauber, Gary (2009-08-23). "Running back Fletcher a weapon for Southern Miss". The Register-Herald. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
  8. ↑ Heim, Mark (2009-09-02). "Southern Miss quarterback Austin Davis wants to build on last season's record-setting year". AL.com. Alabama Media Group. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
  9. ↑ "Eleven Golden Eagles Earn All-Conference USA; Five Tabbed to All-Freshman Team". University of Southern Mississippi. 2008-12-09. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  10. ↑ "Brown, Davis Honored by CollegeFootballNews.com as Freshman All-America Selections". University of Southern Mississippi. 2008-12-12. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  11. ↑ "Allstate Sugar Bowl Announces Manning Award Watch List". Allstate Sugar Bowl. 2009-08-17. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
  12. 1 2 "Austin Davis Stats". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
  13. ↑ "Southern Miss Golden Eagles vs. Kansas Jayhawks - Box Score". ESPN.com. 2009-09-26. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
  14. ↑ "Austin Davis to Miss Remainder of the Season with Foot Injury". University of Southern Mississippi. 2009-10-04. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
  15. ↑ 31-21 "Southern Miss Golden Eagles vs. UCF Knights - Recap" Check |url= value (help). ESPN.com. 2010-11-13. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
  16. ↑ "Houston Cougars vs. Southern Miss Golden Eagles - Recap". ESPN.com. 2010-11-20. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
  17. ↑ "Southern Miss Golden Eagles vs. Louisville Cardinals - Recap". ESPN.com. 2010-12-21. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
  18. ↑ "Southern Miss Golden Eagles vs. Marshall Thundering Herd - Recap". ESPN.com. 2011-09-10. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
  19. ↑ "Southern Miss Golden Eagles vs. Navy Midshipmen - Recap". ESPN.com. 2011-10-08. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
  20. ↑ "Southern Miss Golden Eagles vs. Houston Cougars - Recap". ESPN.com. 2011-12-03. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
  21. ↑ "Nevada Wolf Pack vs. Southern Miss Golden Eagles - Recap". ESPN.com. 2011-12-24. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
  22. ↑ "Southern Miss Golden Eagles 2011 Statistics - Team and Player Stats". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
  23. ↑ "Austin Davis Stats - Southern Mississippi". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
  24. ↑ Van Bibber, Ryan (2013-08-31). "NFL roster cuts 2013: Rams nearing 53 players". Turf Show Times. Vox Media. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
  25. ↑ "The latest from Dolphins camp right here". Miami Herald. 2013-09-10. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
  26. ↑ Walker, James (2013-09-10). "Dolphins practice report: Will Davis returns". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2013-10-22.
  27. ↑ Wesseling, Chris (2013-10-22). "Brady Quinn, Austin Davis set to join St. Louis Rams". NFL.com. Retrieved 2013-10-22.
  28. ↑ http://www.nfl.com/player/austindavis/2533349/gamelogs?season=2014
  29. ↑ Smith, Michael (2014-11-12). "BReport: Rams bench Austin Davis, Shaun Hill to start Sunday". ProFootballTalk.com. Retrieved 2014-11-12.
  30. ↑ Sessler, Marc (September 7, 2015). "Cleveland Browns sign QB Austin Davis". NFL.com. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Austin Davis signs 2-year extension with Cleveland Browns". ESPN.com. September 30, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  32. ↑ Wesseling, Chris (1 December 2015). "Josh McCown suffers collarbone injury in Ravens' win". NFL.com. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  33. ↑ "Austin Davis named Browns starting QB vs. Bengals". Cleveland Browns. 2015-12-02.
  34. ↑ ESPN.com news services. "Browns move QB Johnny Manziel back to starting role". espn.go.com. ESPN. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  35. ↑ http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/pittsburgh-steelers-cleveland-browns-20160103005/
  36. ↑ "Austin Davis Taken in 31st Round by Boston Red Sox in MLB Draft". University of Southern Mississippi. 2012-06-06. Retrieved 2013-04-06.

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