James "Dirty" Davis (born April 26, 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

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 attended

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

, where he also played

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. He earned All-

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

second-team honors in 2002. He was selected by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

in the fifth round of the

2003 NFL draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

College career

Switching from defensive back, linebacker, and end in his four-year collegiate career at

, James "Dirty" Davis became one of the better players in school history. The All-Big East second-team honoree in 2002 began his career in 1999 with 18

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

and a forced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

. The next season, 2000, Davis recorded 49 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss, and 6 sacks. In his junior season, 2001, Davis totaled 51 tackles, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, 14 tackles for a loss, and 8 sacks. In his senior season, 2002, Davis finished his career with a career-high 120 tackles, two forced fumbles, 13.5 tackles for a loss, and four sacks.

Professional career

Detroit Lions

Davis was selected by the

in the

. The fifth round selection played in eight games on the season, recording 8 tackles and two pass break-ups. In his sophomore season in the league,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, Davis played in all 16 games. He set career-highs with 83 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and three pass break-ups. The next season,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, Davis only recorded 59 tackles in all sixteen games of the season.

New York Giants

In 2006, Davis was signed by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. He did not see any action during the season however, and was released at the beginning of the

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

season. He now works as a coach for a local football team.

NFL career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, James 1979 births Living people American football linebackers Martin County High School alumni Detroit Lions players New York Giants players Sportspeople from Stuart, Florida Players of American football from Florida West Virginia Mountaineers football players