Davis Cheek (born February 26, 1999) 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 ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

. He was a member of the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

of 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), New Orleans Breakers 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), and

Michigan Panthers The Michigan Panthers were a professional American football team based in Metro Detroit. The Panthers competed in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member of the Western Conference and Central Division. The team played its home gam ...

of the United Football League (UFL). 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 ...

at Elon. Cheek is the Elon's second all-time leader in career passing yards (8,548), attempts (1,149), completions (701), touchdown passes (51), and first all-time leader in career completion percentage (66.8%).

Early life

Cheek was born on February 26, 1999. He was raised in

Matthews, North Carolina Matthews is a town in southeastern Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte. The population was 29,435 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

, and attended David W. Butler High School. As a junior, Cheek led Butler High to a 9–2 (5–1 in conference) record and a playoff berth while throwing for 2,108 yards and 16 touchdowns, he was named as an all-conference selection. The team lost to

Mallard Creek High School Mallard Creek High School is a comprehensive public high school located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was the 21st high school in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools district. The school opened to 1,200 students on August 27, 2007. Campus and ...

35–30 in the second round of the playoffs. As a senior, Cheek led Butler to an improved 10–1 (6–0 in conference) record, scoring 40+ points in seven out of eleven games that year. After beginning the playoffs with a home 63–0 win against McDowell High School, Cheek beat Mallard Creek 42–28 after they had beaten Butler earlier in the season. Cheek and Butler's season ended against

Julius L. Chambers High School Julius L. Chambers High School, is a high school located in Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System, and opened in 1997. The spor ...

in a 50–49 loss. Cheek rushed for one touchdown and threw for another five, one of which came in overtime to give Butler a 49–42 lead. Chambers scored in response and got the two-point conversion for the win.

College career

Cheek played for

Elon University Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, the university is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or ...

( FCS) for five years from 2017 to 2021. During that time, he threw for 8,548 yards passing and 51 touchdowns. In 2017, Cheek started in all twelve games for Elon, making his debut against

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

. He earned CAA Football Rookie of the Week and STATS FCS National Freshman of the Week honors after a win over

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

where he threw for 331 yards and three touchdowns. He finished the year being named CAA Football Offensive Rookie of the Year and was a finalist for the

Jerry Rice Award The Jerry Rice Award is awarded annually in the United States to the most outstanding freshman player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) of college football as chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports in ...

after he led Elon to an 8–4 record. In 2018, Cheek started the first six games of the season before tearing his ACL in a game against

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

. He led the team to a 4–1 record before his injury, including a season-high 286 yards and a game-winning touchdown against No. 2

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

in a 27–24 Elon win. Prior to the season Cheek was named to the CFPA FCS National Player of the Year Watch List. In 2019, Cheek started all eleven games for Elon, leading the team to a 5–6 record. On homecoming night Cheek and Elon played against Williams & Mary that ended in a 31–29 William & Mary victory after five overtime periods, Cheek threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns in the losing effort including a game tying touchdown pass in fifth overtime. He finished the year eighth in the CAA for total offense with 194.8 yards per game and seventh in passing yards per game with 197.7. Prior to the 2020 season, Cheek suffered a season-ending injury prior to the team's spring season. Despite being out, Cheek was still selected as CAA Football's Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In 2021, Cheek started all eleven games in his return from injury, having the best year of his career statistically he led Elon to a 6–5 record including wins over ranked No. 22

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

and No. 25

. Cheek opened the season throwing for 312 yards and two touchdown passes in a losing effort against Wofford. After a win against

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

where Cheek threw 328 yards and two touchdowns, he was named National Offensive Player of the Week. He was named as a finalist for the

Walter Payton Award The Walter Payton Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding offensive player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) of college football as chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports ...

Statistics

Professional career

Carolina Panthers

After going undrafted in the

2022 NFL draft The 2022 NFL draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual NFL draft, draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, Paradise next to Las Vegas. The first round ...

, Cheek was signed by the

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

on April 30, 2022. He was waived by the team on July 12, 2022. On October 3, 2022, Cheek entered the first session of the 2022 NFL Alumni Academy. On October 8, 2022, Cheek signed a contract with the XFL for the upcoming

2023 XFL season The 2023 XFL season was the second season in the reboot of the XFL, the first under its new ownership group of Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Gerry Cardinale (RedBird Capital), and the third in the history of the XFL brand created and origina ...

. On December 6, 2022, Cheek re-signed with the Carolina Panthers' practice squad.

New Orleans Breakers

On January 14, 2023, Cheek signed with the New Orleans Breakers of the

(USFL). The Breakers folded when the XFL and USFL merged to create the United Football League (UFL).

Michigan Panthers

On January 5, 2024, Cheek was selected by the

during the

2024 UFL dispersal draft The 2024 UFL dispersal draft was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2024 UFL season and disperse the rosters from the eight teams from its component conferences, the XFL and USFL, that were not retained i ...

. He was placed on the retired list on March 18, 2024.

Personal life

Cheek is the son of Eric Cheek and Monica Steed.

References

External links

Elon Phoenix bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheek, Davis 1999 births Living people Players of American football from Mecklenburg County, North Carolina People from Matthews, North Carolina American football quarterbacks Elon Phoenix football players Carolina Panthers players New Orleans Breakers (2022) players Michigan Panthers (2022) players