Antone Davis

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For the basketball player, see Antoine Davis.

Antone Davis
No. 77, 78, 76
Position:
Guard
Personal information
Born: (1967-02-28) February 28, 1967 (age 57)
Fort Valley, Georgia, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:330 lb (150 kg)
Career information
High school:Peach County
(Fort Valley, Georgia)
College:Tennessee
NFL draft:1991 / Round: 1 / Pick: 8
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:97
Games started:87
Fumbles recovered:1
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Antone Eugene Davis (born February 28, 1967) is an American former professional

1991 NFL Draft
.

Davis played for five seasons with the Eagles, who traded two first-round draft picks to pick Davis. In his rookie season in

The Biggest Loser
in 2011.

Early years

Davis grew up as the youngest of eight children in Fort Valley, Georgia, and attended Peach County High School in Fort Valley. His father, Milton Trice, was raised in North Philadelphia, and moved when he was seventeen years old to Georgia. Davis worked many jobs in high school, including work in the high school cafeteria. He had attendance issues that caused him to be held back in ninth grade. He weighed about 300 pounds (140 kg) at the age of fourteen. Unable to play football as a sophomore because of his grades, Davis refocused and brought his grades up. He played football as a junior, but could not play as a senior due to his class graduating the year prior.[1]

College career

Davis played college football for one season in 1986 at the

Scripps–Howard Newspapers, Football News, and The Sporting News.[9] He also earned All-SEC honors.[10] Following the 1990 season, Davis won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy in January 1991, as the best blocker in the SEC.[11] He played in the Hula Bowl on January 18, 1991, for the East squad.[12]

Davis earned the University of Tennessee's Chancellor Citation for his community service efforts during his college career, including his contributions with the "

Knoxville Community Parks Association. He graduated from the University of Tennessee with a degree in urban studies in December 1990.[1]

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

1991 season

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split
20-yard shuttle
 Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 4+1⁄2 in
(1.94 m) 		327 lb
(148 kg) 		32 in
(0.81 m) 		10+3⁄8 in
(0.26 m)		 5.18 s 1.82 s 3.02 s 4.75 s 27.5 in
(0.70 m)		 8 ft 2 in
(2.49 m)		 26 reps

At the

John Butler, the Buffalo Bills' director of player personnel said Davis was "a blueprint tackle, with size and everything else."[1]

Davis was selected by the

1992 NFL Draft.[18] The pick in 1992 ended up being the 17th selection, and the Packers traded it to the Atlanta Falcons for quarterback Brett Favre on February 10, 1992. The Falcons then traded the pick to the Dallas Cowboys (who used it to select cornerback Kevin Smith) and received the 19th selection (used to select running back Tony Smith) and a fourth round pick (used to select cornerback Frankie Smith).[19]

After holding out for 21 days,

jersey number from 77 to 78 after signing the contract.[25] He had his best game of the season in week four against the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 22, as Kotite called more run plays to the right side towards the end of the game.[26] Davis had a key block on a Jim McMahon quarterback sneak touchdown and McMahon gave Davis the ball immediately after to spike in celebration. The Eagles were given a five-yard penalty for the spike, however.[27] In a week five game against the Washington Redskins on September 30, Davis gave up two sacks against defensive end Charles Mann, who received Pro Bowl honors after the season.[28] Davis gave up a total of ten sacks in the first five games of the season.[29]

Against the Buccaneers in week six on October 6, Davis was benched in the third quarter after he was called for three holding penalties and was replaced by Bruce Collie. Collie suffered a knee injury in his second play, and Davis re-entered the game.[30][31] The day after the game, Kotite said about Davis: "He certainly played poorly yesterday without question. If you've got eyes you could see that."[32] Ron Heller moved from left tackle to replace Davis at right tackle the next week against the New Orleans Saints. Daryle Smith, after being waived in training camp, was re-signed to play left tackle.[33] Due to a groin injury suffered by Smith, Davis regained his starting job at right tackle with Heller moving back to left tackle against the San Francisco 49ers in week nine.[34] Davis gave up two sacks against Charles Haley in the game and was called for holding once, but Kotite said Davis improved from his previous start.[35][36] Davis started in every game at right tackle after his benching in 1991.[37] Kotite praised Davis after the Giants game on November 4, saying that he "played very well."[38] Davis was named to the Pro Football Writers of America NFL All-Rookie Team after the season.[39]

1992 season

Davis improved as a blocker in his second season with the Eagles.[40][41] At the start of training camp in 1992, Davis vowed to refuse all requests for interviews by the media in an attempt to focus on getting better. In the season-opener against the New Orleans Saints, Davis helped the Eagles lead the NFC in rushing for the week with 186 yards.[42] Against the Washington Redskins in week seven on October 18, 1992, he suffered a knee sprain after quarterback Randall Cunningham ran into him.[43] He was listed as doubtful before the following game against the Phoenix Cardinals,[44] and did not play in the game.[45] He was listed as doubtful again before the game against the Dallas Cowboys in week nine. Otho Davis, the team's head athletic trainer, said Davis was not working hard enough to rehabilitate his knee.[46] Antone Davis was upgraded to questionable two days before the game,[47] and started against the Cowboys on November 1.[48] In the wild card playoff game against the Saints on January 3, 1993, Davis gave up a sack against Rickey Jackson, which caused a Cunningham fumble.[49] Davis started in all 15 games he played during the regular season, and started in both of the team's playoff games.[37] Pro Football Weekly rated Davis as the 26th-best offensive tackle in the league for the season.[50]

1993 season

Davis played through a shoulder injury early in the 1993 season.[51] Defensive end Reggie White, who signed with the Green Bay Packers following the 1992 season after spending eight seasons with the Eagles and earned seven Pro Bowl selections, said that he believed he destroyed Davis' confidence as a rookie and second-year player, as Davis had to go up against White in practice every week. White said "there are some guys who get very discouraged because they can't block you. I think that was the situation at times with Antone." Davis, however, disputed White's statements as the Eagles played against the Packers in the second week of the season.[52] Dave Goldberg, a writer for the Associated Press, named Davis to his "all-unsung" team after his performance against White.[53] Davis started in every game for the Eagles at right tackle in 1993.[37]

1994 season

With the Eagles pick of offensive tackle

offensive guard in the 1994 season.[54][55] Davis was ejected from a week thirteen game against the Atlanta Falcons on November 27, along with Lester Holmes, for fighting on the field with defensive tackle Pierce Holt of the Falcons.[56] Davis was benched in favor of rookie Joe Panos before a week sixteen game against the New York Giants after committing seven penalties in his previous fourteen starts.[57] Davis played in the final two games of the season.[37] Head coach Rich Kotite was fired after the season.[58]

1995 season

Under new coach

draft bust after being taken in the first round in 1991.[69][70][71]

Later career

Davis was not re-signed by the Eagles following the 1995 season and became an

incentives based on playing time.[66] He began the 1996 season as a backup[74] behind David Richards at right tackle. Davis started in place of the injured Richards for a week five game against the San Francisco 49ers on September 29.[75] Richards came back from his injury in week six, but he and Davis split playing time in weeks seven and eight against the Houston Oilers and Dallas Cowboys, respectively.[76] Richards was waived on October 23 by the Falcons, who decided to go with Davis at right tackle for the remainder of the year.[77] Davis suffered a right ankle sprain in a week sixteen game against the St. Louis Rams on December 15.[78]

The Falcons proposed a restructured contract to Davis, reportedly worth $3 million for three years in March 1997.[79] After starting the first three games at right tackle in 1997, Davis was benched in favor of backup Matt Willig on September 18.[80] Davis did not play in the remaining thirteen games of the season,[37] and was waived by the team on February 11, 1998.[81]

The Green Bay Packers signed Davis on January 22, 1999, reuniting him with new Packers coach Ray Rhodes.[82] His tenure with the Packers was short-lived, however, as Green Bay released him in June.[83]

Davis finished his seven-year NFL career with 87 starts in 97 games and recovered a fumble in the 1997 season.[37]

After football

Davis owned a restaurant called "Gridiron Grill" in

The Biggest Loser in 2011,[85] but was fired after his boss requested that he go back to work immediately after returning home for an interim period.[86]

Davis was a contestant on

the twelfth season of The Biggest Loser, which premiered on September 20, 2011, and ended on December 13, 2011. He struggled with his weight after his football career ended,[87] and he weighed 476 pounds (216 kg) before he decided to go on the reality television show. Additionally, he saw several former college and professional teammates die due to their weights, including Reggie White and Harry Galbreath, and wanted to change his lifestyle.[88] He began the show weighing 447 pounds (203 kg),[84] and he weighed 245 pounds (111 kg) in the season finale, for a total loss of 202 pounds (92 kg), or 45.19 percent, and finished as the runner-up behind John Rhode.[89]

The University of Tennessee announced on August 28, 2012, that Davis had been hired as the Vol for Life (VFL) Coordinator for the school's football program.[90] Five years later, on October 31, 2017, he submitted his two-week notice to resign from that position.[91] During his tenure with Tennessee, he resided in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.[90]

Davis moved to Delaware to work for JPMorgan Chase with his wife after leaving the University of Tennessee in 2017.[92] Davis' oldest son Dakota played college football for the Chattanooga Mocs as an offensive lineman before his career ended prematurely due to concussions.[92] His younger son Braden was a highly-recruited quarterback for Middletown High School (Middletown, Delaware) and Lake Minneola High School (Minneola, Florida),[92][93] and committed to play college football for South Carolina in April 2021.[94] He entered the NCAA transfer portal following the 2022 season,[95] and joined Syracuse in May 2023.[96]

References

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  84. ^ a b Wielgus, Jen (August 25, 2011). "Former Eagle Antone Davis cast on "The Biggest Loser"". phillyburbs.com. Archived from the original on September 25, 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
  85. ^ McCutcheon, Lauren (September 26, 2011). "Get real with: Antone Davis". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved April 5, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  86. ^ Wielgus, Jen (December 8, 2011). "Antone Davis: winning "The Biggest Loser" would be like "my Super Bowl ring"". phillyburbs.com. Archived from the original on January 9, 2012. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
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  90. ^ a b "Davis Named Vol For Life Coordinator". University of Tennessee athletics. August 28, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  91. ^ "Antone Davis gives notice as VFL Coordinator". WNML. November 1, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  92. ^ a b c Neiburg, Jeff (July 9, 2019). "Middletown sophomore QB has yet to start a game but already has offer from Alabama". The News Journal. Retrieved August 2, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  93. ^ Hays, Chris (August 30, 2020). "Star Delaware QB Braden Davis transfers to Lake Minneola". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  94. ^ Callihan, Spencer (April 30, 2021). "Breaking: 2022 QB Braden Davis Makes Decision". SI.com. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  95. ^ Adams, Emily (April 26, 2023). "South Carolina football loses freshman quarterback Braden Davis to transfer portal". GreenvilleOnline.com. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  96. ^ Leiker, Emily (May 11, 2023). "Syracuse earns transfer portal commitment from Braden Davis to fill hole in QB room". Syracuse.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Antone_Davis&oldid=1217243492"