Troy Davis (born September 14, 1975) is a former American college and professional football player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. The ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL) and

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

(CFL). He played college football for

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

where he was a Heisman finalist. Davis twice earned All-American honors and was the first and one of only two

NCAA Division I-A The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). A ...

running backs to rush for over 2,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. In 2016, he was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were v ...

. He played professionally for 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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

of the NFL, and the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Comm ...

and

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

of the CFL, and was a member of the Eskimos'

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

championship team in 2005.

Early years

Davis was born in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...

. He attended

Miami Southridge High School Miami Southridge Senior High School is a secondary school located in South Miami Heights, Florida (Miami postal address). Its current principal is Humberto J. Miret. The school serves ninth through twelfth grade students in a mostly unincorporat ...

, where he was a standout

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, partl ...

player for the Southridge Spartans. He became the first Dade County football player to ever rush for 2,000 yards. He had offers to play at

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

and

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the sta ...

among others but eventually chose

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

College career

Davis attended Iowa State University, and played for the

Iowa State Cyclones football The Iowa State Cyclones football program is the intercollegiate football team at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. The team is coached by Matt Campbell. The Cyclones compete in the Big 12 Conference, and are a Division I Football Bowl Subdiv ...

team from 1994 to 1996. He played sparingly his freshman year under Jim Walden but flourished under new head coach

Dan McCarney Patrick Daniel McCarney (born July 28, 1953) is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Iowa State University from 1995 to 2006 and the University of North Texas from 2011 to 2015, compiling a career college foo ...

during Davis's final two seasons. Davis set numerous Cyclone team records, including most career rushing yards (4,382), total rushing yards in a single season (2,185), rushing yards in a game (378, vs.

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, rushing attempts in a game (53, vs.

Northern Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois ...

, most rushing touchdowns in a game (5, vs.

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the ...

and vs. Northern Iowa), most 100-yard rushing games in a season (11) and career (21), most 200-yard rushing games in a season (5) and career (9), and most consecutive 100-yard rushing games (17, during 1995 and 1996 seasons), and most consecutive games scoring a touchdown (10, during

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...

and

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on b ...

seasons). He also held the

record for most career rushing touchdowns (36) and was tied for first for most career total touchdowns (38). He became the first running back in

(now

Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). A ...

) history to gain 2,000 yards in two different seasons. During his three seasons at ISU, the Cyclones finished last in the Big Eight standings in his sophomore and junior seasons and last in the Big 12 North division standings his senior year. In 1996, Davis was selected as the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. He was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American at running back in

and

. Davis finished fifth in voting for the Heisman Trophy in

. In

, he narrowly finished second to winner

Danny Wuerffel Daniel Carl Wuerffel (born May 27, 1974) is a former college and professional American football quarterback. Wuerffel attended the University of Florida, where he was a prolific passer for the Florida Gators under head coach Steve Spurrier. Wue ...

. He won three out of four Heisman regions, but lost badly in the South region. He was also nosed out for the

Doak Walker Award Since 1990 the Doak Walker Award honors the top running back in college football in the United States. It is named in honor of Doak Walker, a former running back who played for the SMU Mustangs from 1945 to 1949 and in the National Football Lea ...

by another Big 12 running back, Byron Hanspard of Texas Tech. Hanspard edged Davis for the award despite Hanspard earning a 0.00 grade point average during his final season playing for Texas Tech. He did however win the Jim Brown Award and the

Chic Harley Award The Touchdown Club of Columbus was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1956 by Sam B. Nicola at the request of state auditor James A. Rhodes, who later became governor of the state. Nicola served as the club's president until his death in 1993. More th ...

given to the top running back and best college football player respectively. He was inducted into the Iowa State Hall of Fame in 2007. Davis was inducted into the

in 2016.

College statistics

Professional career

Davis elected to forgo his senior season of eligibility and declared for the

1997 NFL Draft The 1997 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 19–20, 1997, at the Paramount T ...

. He was drafted in the 3rd round (62nd overall) by the

. During his three seasons with the Saints Davis started 11 games and rushed for 446 yards on 150 attempts. Davis left the Saints after the 1999 season and was drafted by the Birmingham Thunderbolts of the XFL, but was cut in training camp. Davis then signed with the

of the CFL as a running back and kick-returner for the 2001 season. In 2004, he led the league in rushing and set the franchise record with 1,656 yards. He was traded mid-season in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

to the

in exchange for a package headlined by Brock Ralph, Tay Cody, and the first overall draft pick in the 2006 Draft. He was able to play a key role in leading the Eskimos to winning the

93rd Grey Cup The 93rd Grey Cup game was held on November 27, 2005, at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, between the Edmonton Eskimos and the Montreal Alouettes, to decide the winner of the 2005 season of the Canadian Football League. The Es ...

that year. On February 23, 2007, the Eskimos released Davis. He was later signed to the

practice roster on September 25, 2007. Davis was initially released by the Argonauts on October 17, 2007, but rejoined their practice roster on October 23, 2007.

NFL statistics

CFL statistics

Personal life

Davis is the brother of Darren Davis, who played running back at Iowa State beginning in Troy's final season until 1999. Darren ran for over 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons before ending his career second in career rushing yards behind his older brother.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Troy 1975 births Living people All-American college football players American football running backs Canadian football running backs College Football Hall of Fame inductees Edmonton Elks players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Iowa State Cyclones football players New Orleans Saints players Players of American football from Miami Miami Southridge Senior High School alumni Toronto Argonauts players Players of Canadian football from Miami