Nick Davila

Nick Davila
No. 10 Arizona Rattlers
Position: Quarterback
Personal information
Date of birth: (1985-05-22) May 22, 1985
Place of birth: Downey, California
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight: 210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school: La Verne (CA) Damien
College: Cincinnati
Undrafted: 2007
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Career Arena statistics as of 2015
Comp. / Att.: 2,261 / 3,368
Passing yards: 28,413
TD-INT: 656-79
QB Rating: 122.99
Rushing TD: 22
Player stats at ArenaFan.com

Nick Davila (born May 22, 1985) is an arena football quarterback for the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League (AFL). A three-time league Champion, and two-time MVP, he has played with the Rattlers since 2010. Davila is of Mexican American descent.[1] He is nicknamed the "Latin Laser".[2][3]

He played college football at the University of Cincinnati, after playing two seasons at Chaffey College. While at Chaffey, Davila set multiple school records for passing. When he chose Cincinnati to continue his football career, Davila found himself backing up Dustin Grutza. It wasn't until his senior season that Davila got his first start playing against the #7 ranked, and undefeated, Rutgers team. Davila lead the Bearcats to a 30-11 upset win over the Scarlet Knights, ending Rutgers hopes at a national championship. After going undrafted in the 2007 NFL Draft, Davila tried out for the Cleveland Browns, but never made their team. He was signed by the Spokane Shock as a street free agent in 2008. Davila lead the Shock to a 15-1 regular season record in 2009, leading them to a 74-27 rout of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers. With the af2 becoming Arena Football 1 in 2010, Davila left Spokane and signed with the Arizona Rattlers. Since joining the Rattlers, Davila has led them to four West Division championships, four National Conference championships, and three ArenaBowl championships.

Early life

Born the son of Fernando and Marsha Davila,[4] Nick attended Damien High School in La Verne, California.[5] While at Damien, Davila was a standout quarterback on the football team, as well as a first baseman on the baseball team.[6] His junior year, Davila put up what was at the time, the fifth best season in Damien history, throwing for 1,880 yards and 11 touchdowns.[7] This set Davila up with an opportunity to play at a NCAA Division I college. His senior year he accepted a scholarship to play for Oregon State. However, in the second game of Davila's senior season of football, he broke his clavicle,[8] and Oregon State Head Coach, Dennis Erickson reduced the size of scholarship he was offering.[4] He was a high school teammate of Ian Johnson.

College career

Chaffey College

After high school, Davila attended Chaffey College where he could continue playing football, while showing larger schools that he had recovered from his broken clavicle.[9] In his final game, Davila took a hearbreaking loss 14-21, to the El Camino College Warriors in the Verizon Southern California Bowl.[10] After two impressive All-American seasons,[4] Davila signed with the University of Cincinnati to continue his football career.[11]

Name Home town High school / college Height Weight 40‡ Commit date
Nick Davila
QB		 La Verne, California Chaffey College 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 4.7 Dec 15, 2004 
Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: -- (QB)   Rivals: -- (QB), -- (CA)
  • ‡ Refers to 40 yard dash
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Davila committed to Cincinnati on December 15, 2004.[12] Davila wasn't heavily recruited, as he only received a FBS scholarship from Cincinnati.[13]

Cincinnati

Davila joined the Cincinnati Bearcats in 2005, and played in five games as the backup quarterback to Dustin Grutza. He completed 58 percent of his passes for 344 yards and four TDs. Davila saw the most playing time, of his junior year, against Louisville. Davila came in to replace a struggling Grutza, and completed 9-of-15 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns, but it was too little too late, as the Bearcats fell 22-46 to the Cardinals. In 2006, Davila was once again the backup quarterback behind Grutza, despite the chance to win the starting job throughout the summer and fall practices.[14] After seeing some playing time in a few games, Davila got his first start playing against the #7 ranked, and undefeated, Rutgers team. Davila lead the Bearcats to a 30-11 upset win over the Scarlet Knights, ending Rutgers hopes at a national championship in 2007.[15] Davila went on to lead the Bearcats to another victory over Connecticut, as they finished with a 7-5 regular season record, making the team bowl eligible. After the team finished strong, head coach Mark Dantonio left the program to become the head coach at Michigan State. The university wasted no time in naming Brian Kelly the team's new head coach. The Bearcats were then extended an offer to the International Bowl against Western Michigan of the Mid-American Conference. Kelly made the choice to start Davila in the bowl game, and Davila lead the Bearcats to a 27-24 victory.

Statistics

Source:[16]

    Passing   Rushing
Season Team Rating Att Comp Pct Yds TD INT Att Yds TD
2003 Chaffey 168.0 n/a n/a n/a 2,787 24 n/a n/a n/a n/a
2004 Chaffey 147.9 298 182 61.1 2,892 23 13 n/a n/a n/a
Chaffey Totals 168.0 n/a n/a n/a 5,679 47 n/a n/a n/a n/a
2005 Cincinnati 142.2 45 26 57.8 344 4 2 4 12 0
2006 Cincinnati 151.9 118 70 59.3 1,057 8 3 28 -26 1
Cincinnati Totals 149.3 163 96 58.9 1,401 12 5 32 -14 1
Career Totals n/a n/a n/a n/a 7,080 59 n/a n/a n/a n/a

Professional career

Pre-draft

Prior to the 2007 NFL Draft, Davila was projected to be undrafted by NFLDraftScout.com. He was rated as the sixtieth-best quarterback in the draft.[18] Davila was not invited to the 2007 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

Pre-draft measurables
Ht WtArm lengthHand size 40-yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP
6 ft 3 in 208 lb33½ in9¼ in 4.83 s 1.73 s 2.82 s 4.34 s 6.60 s 30 in 9 ft 2 in
All values from 2007 Cincinnati Bearcats Pro Day[18]

Cleveland Browns

After going undrafted, Davila signed with the Cleveland Browns for training camp, but failed to make the roster.[19]

Spokane Shock

After sitting out the 2007 season, Davila signed with the Spokane Shock of af2 for their 2008 season.[20] Davila had a terrific first season of arena football, as he threw for a franchise-record 2,935 yards and 66 touchdowns, while leading the Shock to a 15-1 regular season record, and a berth in ArenaCup IX.[21] The Shock lost the ArenaCup to the Tennessee Valley Vipers 55-56. With Davila's stellar season, he received multiple Arena Football League offers, but re-signed with the Shock for 2009 when they were no longer available to him.[21] In two seasons with the Shock, the team was 38-3 with two championship game appearances. And Davila passed for 6,798 yards and 152 touchdowns.[22]

Arizona Rattlers

2010

With the Shock moving into the Arena Football League in 2010, and Davila a free agent, Arizona Rattlers Head Coach, Kevin Guy, convinced Davila to sign with the Rattlers, rather than re-signing with the Shock, by convincing Davila that the Rattlers would "win a lot of football games."[22] Coach Kevin Guy's statement would turn out to be true, as The Rattlers began to rise with Davila leading the way.

In 2010 Davila and the Rattlers finished 2nd in the Western Division right behind their new rivals and Davila's former team the Spokane Shock. They finished the year at 10-6, as the 4th seed heading into the playoffs. In the opening round, Arizona matched up against the Shock on the road, but were knocked out, and Spokane would go on to win ArenaBowl XXIII.

2011

The following year in 2011, Nick set a league record for touchdowns, and passing yards thrown, and was named AFL MVP. He and the Rattlers accumulated the best record in Arizona's history finishing at 16-2, and as the #1 seed heading into the playoffs. In the 1st round they faced yet again their rival Spokane Shock, but this time defeated them 62-33 advancing to the Conference Championship. They would play and defeat the Chicago Rush in a tightly contested 54-48 shootout. Chicago was one of only two teams that beat them in the regular season, thanks to a game winning field goal by Chris Gould. With the Victory Davila had reached his very first ArenaBowl. Arizona would face the American Conference Champion Jacksonville Sharks led by veteran QB Aaron Garcia. In a back and forth game, the two teams would post one of the best performances in ArenaBowl history. It appeared as though the Rattlers would score the game winning touchdown after Davila hit Kerry Reed with a 12-yard pass, with 21 seconds left in the game. However, Garcia threw the game winning touchdown pass to Jeron Harvey, as time expired on 4th down to give Jacksonville its first ArenaBowl title in its second season in the AFL. The final score ended 73-70.

2012

With the sting of defeat still fresh in their minds the following year, Davila and the Rattlers were determined to make 2012 (his 3rd AFL season) a year of redemption. Nick once again led the Rattlers to a division title at 13-5, entering the playoffs as the number two seed behind Aaron Garcia and the San Antonio Talons. They defeated division rival San Jose in the first round, narrowly escaping with a 54-48 victory. In the 2nd round they held on to beat their other rivals, the Utah Blaze in another close contest 75-68. With the win, Arizona clinched their 2nd straight National Conference Title. Nick Davila and the Rattlers returned to the ArenaBowl and were determined to make sure this trip, would have a different result. They faced the American Conference Champion Philadelphia Soul, who entered the game as the AFL's top ranked team with a 15-3 record and heavy favorites. In convincing fashion, Davila and the Rattlers shredded the Soul, forcing them to commit 3 key turnovers early in the contest and pounding them in a 72-54 Victory. Nick Davila was named the MVP of ArenaBowl XXV and the Rattlers earned their 3rd title in franchise history. With the win, the Rattlers redeemed themselves from their heartbreaking last second loss in the title game the previous year.

2013

Davila re-signed with the Rattlers in 2013, signing a two-year contract.[23] He led the Rattlers to their 3rd consecutive ArenaBowl appearance. During ArenaBowl XXVI, Davila threw 6 touchdown passes, hitting game MVP, Rod Windsor, 10 times (50% of Davila's completions). The Rattlers defeated the Philadelphia Soul 48-39, becoming the first squad since the 1995 and 96 Tampa Bay Storm, to repeat as back to back Arenabowl Champions. The Rattlers also became the first team in AFL history to repeat as champions the following year against the same opponent.[24]

2014

In 2014, Davila would lead the Rattlers to a 15-3 regular season record, throwing for 4,778 yards and 127 touchdowns, completing 66.5% of his passes, and throwing only 11 interceptions, en route to a fourth consecutive appearance for the Rattlers in the ArenaBowl.[25] In ArenaBowl XXVII, Davila threw eight touchdowns, went 19-for-24 for 237 yards, and threw only one interception in their 72-32 victory over the Cleveland Gladiators. This victory made the Rattlers only the second team to win three consecutive ArenaBowls, and earned Davila the Russell Athletic Offensive Player of the Game award, as well as his second ArenaBowl MVP award.[26]

2015

In 2015, the Rattlers would finish 14-4 with two of the losses coming at the hands of the San Jose SaberCats. Davila suffered an injury during the middle of the season and missed a couple of games. Despite this the Rattlers won their fifth straight division title. In the playoffs the Rattlers crushed the Spokane Shock 72-41 before going to face the SaberCats in the playoffs for the fourth straight season, but with the SaberCats hosting. The game was a back and forth affair until the last minute of the game. Davila made a touchdown pass with 40 seconds left in the game to put the Rattlers up 67-63, but the SaberCats managed a late touchdown with 8 seconds left to pull off the exciting victory 70-67, this preventing Davila and the Rattlers from winning their fourth straight championship.

References

  1. ↑ Richard Obert (June 16, 2010). "Rattlers owner: Latino Night, Arizona immigration law unrelated". Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Rattlers’ Davila and Dukes earn weekly AFL honors". arizonasports.com. June 3, 2014. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  3. ↑ Markowitz, Adam (August 17, 2014). "Latin Laser Could Stand Alone After ArenaBowl XXVII". arenafan.com. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 Jess Brown (July 10, 2008). "Riding the wave". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  5. ↑ Steve Ramirez (August 31, 2001). "Sierra League Preview". San Gabriel Valley Tribune. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  6. ↑ Steve Ramirez (April 10, 2002). "Spartans get key league victory, 12-3". San Gabriel Valley Tribune. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  7. ↑ "All Time Records". wwwdamien-hs.edu. Damien High School. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  8. ↑ Ben Bolch (October 17, 2002). "Damien Vies for the Spotlight". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  9. ↑ Geoff Fisk (October 5, 2003). "Once again, Rams can't catch Panthers". Desert Dispatch. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  10. ↑ Dianne Kutz (January 15, 2004). "Panthers lose a heartbreaker SoCal Bowl". The Breeze. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Where Have They Gone? 4 Year University Transfers". www.chaffey.edu. Chaffey College. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Nick Davila". Rivals.com. Yahoo!. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Nick Davila". Scout.com. NBC. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  14. ↑ Trent C. Rosecrans (September 13, 2006). "Bearcats Dropping Two-QB Platoon\ Grutza Now Full-Time Starter". Cincinnati Post. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  15. ↑ Ed Barkowitz (August 16, 2013). "Rattlers QB recalls big college play with Eagles' Celek". www.philly.com. Interstate General Media, LLC. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Nick Davila Stats". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Chaffey College Records" (PDF). www.chaffey.edu. Chaffey College. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  18. 1 2 "Nick Davila, DS #60 QB, Cincinnati". NFLDraftScout.com. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
  19. ↑ Jose M. Romero (July 3, 2012). "Viva Davila! Quarterback throws TDs, wins fans for AFL’s Arizona Rattlers". www.foxdeportes.com. Fox. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  20. ↑ "QB Davila added". www.spokaneshock.com. Spokane Shock. February 22, 2008. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  21. 1 2 "Shock quarterback Davila set to return". The Spokesman-Review. December 19, 2008. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  22. 1 2 Richard Obert (April 1, 2010). "Arizona Rattlers quarterback Nick Davila set for debut with team". www.azcentral.com. azcentral.com. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  23. ↑ Vince Marotta (February 19, 2013). "Nick Davila signs two-year deal with Rattlers". www.arizonasports.com. Bonneville International. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  24. ↑ Joe Williams (August 17, 2013). "ArenaBowl XXVI: Rattlers win 2nd Arena Football League title in row". www.orlandosentinel.com. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
  25. ↑ http://www.arenafootball.com/sports/a-footbl/spec-rel/league-leaders.html
  26. ↑ http://www.arenafootball.com/sports/arenabowl/spec-rel/082414aaa.html

External links

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