| No. 48 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Running back | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1974-03-01)March 1, 1974 (age 51) Spartanburg, South Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 230 lb (104 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Spartanburg (SC) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Auburn | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1996: 4th round, 102nd overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Stephen Lamont Davis (born March 1, 1974) is an American former professionalfootball player who was arunning back for 11 seasons in theNational Football League (NFL).
A native ofSpartanburg, South Carolina, Davis attendedSpartanburg High School, where he excelled in football and track.[1] At the 1991 South Carolina state meet, he set a state record in the100 metres with 10.40 seconds. His record stood for 17 years, untilMarcus Rowland ran a 10.35 at the 2008 state meet.[2][3]
Regarded as the No. 1 recruit in the nation in 1992, Davis was namedUSA Today Offensive High School Football Player of the Year.
Davis played three years (1993, 1994, 1995) forAuburn University, starting in his sophomore year. He made theAll-SEC team his last two seasons and graduated as the team's fourth all-time leading rusher behindJoe Cribbs,James Brooks, andBo Jackson. He was also aletterman for all three seasons.
Davis currently holds the record for rush attempts (1,945), rush yards (8,052) and rushing TDs (65) amongst all Auburn alumni in NFL history.[4]
Davis wasdrafted in the fourth round (103rd overall) in the1996 NFL draft by theWashington Redskins.[5][6] Davis was primarily used as afullback, and was part of the Redskins' backfield withTerry Allen. He spent three seasons as a backup and fullback before getting thestarting nod at the start of the1999 NFL season. This was Davis' breakout season, when he posted career highs, and ended up representing theNFC in thePro Bowl. He led the NFC in yards rushing with 1,405, and led the league in yards per carry (4.8). He was also the league's leading non-kicking scorer, posting 108 points on 17touchdowns and onetwo-point conversion. He continued to post high numbers the following season en route to his second straight Pro Bowl selection. In 2001, Davis rushed for 1,432, breaking the record he had set in 1999 for most rushing yards in a season by a Redskin.
SaidFootball Outsiders about Davis's 1999 season, "Stephen Davis was just a monster in 1999 with 1407 yards (second in the league) and 17 touchdowns (nobody else scored more than 13). He led the league with a 60% success rate, and nobody else with at least 75 carries was over 55%."[7]
Davis signed with theCarolina Panthers for the start of the2003 NFL season, and was a catalyst in leading the team toSuper Bowl XXXVIII. Davis rushed for a career-high 1,444 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. Davis led all rushers in the postseason with 315 yards. Unfortunately for Davis, he suffered an injury early the following season, and was one of fourteen Panthers oninjured reserve as the Panthers struggled to a 7–9 record. He was also on the injured list early in the2005 season, but came off the bench after a few games before being forced to sit out the remainder of the season with nagging knee injuries. Davis was released by the Panthers on March 1, 2006.
On August 24, 2006, Davis worked out with theSt. Louis Rams and was offered a one-year contract, which he accepted.
On February 27, 2008, Davis signed aone-day contract with Carolina so he could officially retire as a Panther; he did so the next day on February 28, 2008. Later, in 2012, he came forth with reports about suffering from tinnitus and other concussion related side effects.
Davis was the Carolina Panthers' minority coaching intern for the 2010–11 season.[8]
| Year | Team | GP | Rushing | Fumbles | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FD | Fum | Lost | |||
| 1996 | WAS | 12 | 23 | 139 | 6.0 | 39 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | WAS | 14 | 141 | 567 | 4.0 | 18 | 3 | 31 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | WAS | 16 | 34 | 109 | 3.2 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 1999 | WAS | 14 | 290 | 1,405 | 4.8 | 76 | 17 | 84 | 3 | 1 |
| 2000 | WAS | 15 | 332 | 1,318 | 4.0 | 50 | 11 | 71 | 3 | 3 |
| 2001 | WAS | 16 | 356 | 1,432 | 4.0 | 32 | 5 | 74 | 6 | 3 |
| 2002 | WAS | 12 | 207 | 820 | 4.0 | 33 | 7 | 47 | 4 | 4 |
| 2003 | CAR | 14 | 318 | 1,444 | 4.5 | 40 | 8 | 69 | 3 | 3 |
| 2004 | CAR | 2 | 24 | 92 | 3.8 | 12 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | CAR | 13 | 180 | 549 | 3.1 | 39 | 12 | 31 | 2 | 0 |
| 2006 | STL | 15 | 40 | 177 | 4.4 | 16 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| Career[9] | 143 | 1,945 | 8,052 | 4.1 | 76 | 65 | 435 | 22 | 15 | |
As of 2017[update] off-season, Davis held at least 8 Panthers records, including: