Keith Lamont Davis (born December 30, 1978) 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 ...

player who was a

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. 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). 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 ...

for the

Sam Houston State Bearkats The Sam Houston Bearkats are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Sam Houston State University, located in Huntsville, Texas. Sam Houston's colors are orange and white. Sam Houston sports teams participate in NCAA Division I (Foo ...

Early life

Davis attended Italy High School. In football, he was a four-year starter. He had 33 touchdown receptions and 5 blocked punts in his last 2 seasons. He was a two-time All-District and All-State

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

and

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

at UIL Class AA. He was a starter on the varsity

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team that won the 1997

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League B ...

State Championship. He also lettered in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

College career

Davis accepted a football scholarship from

Sam Houston State University Sam Houston State University (Sam Houston, SHSU or Sam) is a public research university in Huntsville, Texas, United States. Founded in 1879, it is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools wes ...

. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

freshman, he started 5 games at safety and made 40 tackles. As a sophomore, he was named a starter at safety, posting 104 tackles, 11 passes defensed, 2 interceptions, 3 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 3 blocked punts. As a junior, he was named

Southland Conference The Southland Conference (SLC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it participates in ...

Defensive Player of the Year and team MVP after posting 99 tackles, 14 tackles for loss (led the team), 2 interceptions and 2 blocked punts. As a senior, he led the team with 96 tackles (led the team), 67 solo tackles (led the team), 7 pass defended, three forced fumbles, one sack, and one fumble recovery. He earned

Division I-AA The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Sponsored by the National Collegiate A ...

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors and All-Southland Conference honors after the season. He finished his college career with 339 tackles (fourth in school history) and 6 interceptions. In 2013, he was named to the

2000s All-Decade Team. In 2014, he was inducted into the

Sam Houston State Sam Houston State University (Sam Houston, SHSU or Sam) is a public research university in Huntsville, Texas, United States. Founded in 1879, it is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools wes ...

Athletic Hall of Honor. On December 7, 2018, Davis graduated from

with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology degree.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys (first stint)

Davis was signed 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 ...

by the

after the

2002 NFL draft The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted ...

. He was waived on September 1. He was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

on September 3. He was released on September 11. He was re-signed to the practice squad on September 16. He was promoted to the active roster on October 12. He was cut on October 22. He was re-signed to the practice squad on October 23. He was promoted to the active roster on November 22. He played in 8 games as a backup

and on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. He was credited with 5 defensive tackles, 2 quarterback pressures, one pass breakup and 8

tackles. In

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, before the start of

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

, he was shot in the right hip and left elbow around 2:20 a.m. outside the Dallas Gentlemen's Club. Davis had driven to the club after closing time to pick up a friend. The friend was sitting at a table where an altercation broke out, and spilled outside to the parking lot, culminating with his shooting while defending his girlfriend. While he did nothing to provoke the incident, and was regarded as an unwitting victim,

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Bill Parcells Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells ( ; born August 22, 1941) is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons. He came to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants from 19 ...

believed Davis should not have placed himself in a questionable situation and released him from the team on July 26. On January 13,

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 ...

, he rejoined the club after Parcells gave him a second chance, re-signing him to play in

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

. Davis took advantage of the opportunity and was named All-league, while helping the

Berlin Thunder The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europe. History The Thunder came into existence as an expansion team, after the London/England Monarchs franchise shut down operations, prior to the 1999 season. Home games f ...

to the

World Bowl XII World Bowl XII was NFL Europe's 2004 championship game. The game was played at Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen, Germany on June 12, 2004. In this game, the defending champion Frankfurt Galaxy returned to try to protect their title after going ...

championship. He compiled 65 tackles (second on the team), 4 interceptions (second in the league), 15 pass defenses and 2 forced fumbles. He made the Cowboys regular season roster and was second on the team with 21

tackles. He also was selected to the USA Today All-Joe Team. In

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 started 15 games at

free safety Safety (S), historically known as a safetyman, is a position in gridiron football on the American football positions#Defense, defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two var ...

alongside Roy Williams. He finished 68 defensive tackles (fourth on the team), one tackle for loss, 3 passes defensed, 16

tackles (led the team) and one forced fumble On April 10,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

signed him to a restricted free agent offer sheet, but the Cowboys retained his player rights by matching the offer. On July 16, he was shot for the second time in just three years. This time he was randomly shot in the back of the head and in his right thigh, while driving to church at 5:30 a.m. on a Dallas freeway. He drove himself to the hospital and was later discharged. He was part of a platoon at

with rookie Pat Watkins. Davis started 6 games, tallying 21 defensive tackles, one quarterback pressure, 14

tackles (fourth on the team). In

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 ...

, Ken Hamlin took over the

position. Davis appeared in 14 games with one start at

strong safety Safety (S), historically known as a safetyman, is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free sa ...

, making 7 defensive tackles, one pass defensed and 18

tackles (tied for third on the team).

Miami Dolphins

On March 11,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, Davis signed as an

unrestricted 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 ...

with the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

, reuniting him with team vice president

. In a surprise move, the Dolphins released him a day before the final preseason game.

Dallas Cowboys (second stint)

On August 31,

, Davis was re-signed by the

, just days after being released by the Dolphins. He was named team captain for the season despite being on the roster only a few days. He appeared in 16 with 9 starts at

, collecting 40 tackles (one for loss), 2 passes defensed and 20

(led the team). He also received the

Ed Block Courage Award The Ed Block Courage Award is an annual award presented to a player from each team in the National Football League (NFL) who are voted for by their teammates as role models of inspiration, sportsmanship, and courage. Named in memory of Ed Block, a ...

for playing with a torn pectoral muscle. He wasn't re-signed after the season. Davis finished his professional career with 171 defensive tackles, no interceptions and 6 passes defensed. He is considered to be one of the best

players in the history of the

Oakland Raiders

On May 21,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

signed him as a

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 ...

to add depth at the

position. He was released before the start of

on July 12.

Florida Tuskers (UFL)

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, after being out of

for one year, he signed as a

with the

Florida Tuskers Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

of the United Football League. He was a backup

behind J. R. Reed. In

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, he played for the

Virginia Destroyers The Virginia Destroyers were a professional American football team based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. They began play in the United Football League (UFL) in the 2011 season. They played their home games at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex. The t ...

which was the team that replaced the Tuskers.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Keith 1978 births Living people People from Italy, Texas Players of American football from Ellis County, Texas American football safeties Sam Houston Bearkats football players Dallas Cowboys players Berlin Thunder players Florida Tuskers players Virginia Destroyers players