Donnie Davis

Donnie Davis

Date of birth:	December 16, 1972 (1972-12-16) (age 38)
Place of birth:	Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Career information
Status:	Retired
Position(s):	QB
Height:	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:	205 lb (93 kg)
College:	Georgia Tech
Organizations
As player:
1997–1999 2001 2002–2003	Arizona Rattlers Milwaukee Mustangs Georgia Force
Playing stats at ArenaFan.com

Donnie Davis (born on December 16, 1972 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina) was the starting quarterback for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in 1993 and 1995. He would eventually become a quarterback in the Arena Football League playing for the Arizona Rattlers, the Milwaukee Mustangs, and the Georgia Force.

College

Davis's college career began in the wake of the 1990 National Championship run under Head Coach Bobby Ross. Davis redshirted in 1991 and would await the graduation of star quarterback Shawn Jones through his redshirt freshman and sophomore seasons. Bobby Ross would leave before Davis's sophomore season and Bill Lewis was appointed head coach. The team, 2 years removed from a National Title, only won five games and finished the 1992 season with a 5-6 record.^[1]

Davis in 1993 was looked upon as a new hope for the Georgia Tech faithful. His redshirt sophomore campaign began with a thrashing of Furman but over the next three games Georgia Tech would be outscored 102-27. Davis would finish the year with a 5-6 record and a loss to archrival Georgia.^[2]

Bill Lewis wanted a spark for his wilting team so he recruited junior college transfer Tom Luginbill from Palomar. Luginbill came in from a wide open pass offense where he tossed for over 7,600 yards and had won 21 games in two years.^[3] Luginbill would eventually take the starting job from Davis after Davis got injured in spring practice.^[4] Donnie was a favorite amongst the team on and off the field, which further compounded the issue.^{[citation needed]} Several Georgia Tech players saw Luginbill's appointment as an insult to their former coach and national title team.^{[citation needed]}

Luginbill's first two efforts in 1994 saw Georgia Tech narrowly lose to then #1 Arizona and demolish Western Carolina. Then, the team began a downward spiral as death threats against Luginbill^{[citation needed]} and racial divide may have split the team into small quarreling factions.^[5] Luginbill's career ended at Georgia Tech with a 1-10 record and the firing of Coach Bill Lewis. Lewis was replaced by defensive coordinator George O'Leary.

After Luginbill transferred to Eastern Kentucky, Davis and O'Leary began a major rebuilding of the Georgia Tech football program that would lead Georgia Tech eventually back to playing in bowls and competing at the highest level in the ACC. Davis over his career compiled an 11-11 record with over 4,000 yards of total offense and 29 total touchdowns.^[6] He is remembered for his athleticism and steadfast nature during some of the darkest times in Georgia Tech football.

Professional career

Davis would go on to be one of the most successful passers in Arizona Rattler history. He would win the Most Valuable Player of Arena Bowl XI in 1997,^[7][8] where Kurt Warner was the opposing quarterback.^[5]

After football

Donnie retired from arena football in 2001 and has worked in the mortgage banking industry ever since.^[9] Davis plans on graduating from Georgia Tech in 2009 with a Bachelors of Science in Management.^[5] He is currently an intern at both the Southern Company and for the Georgia Tech department of athletics,^[10] and has also started a LinkedIn group for Georgia Tech football letter winners ^[11]

Notes

1. ^ "Bill Lewis Q&A". http://gtalumni.org/StayInformed/techtopics/fall93/BillLewis.html. Retrieved 2007-03-26. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ "GT FB Records from 1990–1994". http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_ia/acc/georgia_tech/yearly_results.php?year=1990. Retrieved 2007-03-26. 
3. ^ "Tom Luginbill on his own college recruitment". http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/news/story?id=2311368. Retrieved 2007-03-26. 
4. ^ "Luginbill takes over White Squad". http://gtalumni.org/Publications/techtopics/sum94/190.html. Retrieved 2007-03-26. 
5. ^ ^{a b c} http://blogs.ajc.com/mark-bradley-blog/2009/05/15/former-tech-qb-donnie-davis-is-finishing-what-he-started/
6. ^ "GT Career Individual Records". http://ramblinwreck.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/indivcareerlead.html. Retrieved 2007-03-26. 
7. ^ "Donnie Davis Statistics from Arenafan". http://www.arenafan.com/players/?page=players&player=392. Retrieved 2007-03-26. 
8. ^ "Arizona Rattlers Team History". http://www.azrattlers.com/azrattlers/index.html?id=367. Retrieved 2007-03-26. 
9. ^ "Donnie Davis hired by JW Homes and Neighborhoods". http://www.jwhomes.com/whatsnew/release.asp?On=news&newsID=266. Retrieved 2007-03-26. 
10. ^ http://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=37049456&authToken=j1hH&authType=name&goback=%2Egdr_1264604274612_1%2Eanb_1549347_*2
11. ^ http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1549347&trk=anetsrch_name&goback=%2Egdr_1264604274612_1

Sporting positions
Preceded by Shawn Jones	Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Starting Quarterback 1993	Succeeded by Tom Luginbill
Preceded by Tom Luginbill	Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Starting Quarterback 1995	Succeeded by Joe Hamilton

Persondata
Name	Davis, Donnie
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	December 16, 1972
Place of birth	Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Date of death
Place of death