Fred Davis (tight end)

Fred Davis (born January 15, 1986) is an American football tight end for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Redskins in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Southern California.

Early years
Davis prepped at Rogers High School in Toledo. He was on the USA Today All-USA second team. According to Scout.com, Davis was rated the second best wide receiver in his recruiting class coming out of high school. Davis played in the 2004 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

As a high school junior, Davis considered attending Ohio State University because it was the first program to offer him an athletic scholarship. His senior season resulted in many other offers, with USC winning out with a combination of weather, location, coaches, quality players and a style of offense that suited Davis; he conversed the matter over with fellow recruit Dwayne Jarrett before they both decided to join the Trojans.

College career
Davis graduated from Robert S. Rogers High School in Toledo, OH, a semester early to start spring training with the Trojans. Tired of the recruiting process that accompanies top prospects, Davis secretly left Ohio to enroll at USC. Recruited as a wide receiver, he showed solid speed and raw athletic ability but lacked the route-running skills and ball-catching ability of other receivers. After consulting with then-offensive coordinator Norm Chow, Davis decided to try converting to tight end.

His freshman year, Davis contributed as a reserve to the eventual-national champion 2004 USC Trojans football team, playing in nine games and catching four passes behind fellow tight ends Dominique Byrd and Alex Holmes. However, because of repeated incidences of tardiness, reporting late after trips back to Ohio, Davis was not allowed to travel with the Trojans to the BCS National Championship Game in 2005 Orange Bowl. Davis reapplied himself the next season, catching 13 passes in 13 games during the 2005 season, including two in the 2006 Rose Bowl. During the 2006 season, Davis started ten games and caught 38 passes for 352 yards and three touchdowns.



Davis was a preseason team All-Pacific-10 Conference player prior to 2007 and was considered a likely high draft choice for the 2008 NFL Draft. He was on the 2007 Mackey Award watch list. Against Washington State, Davis had the best game of his career, with nine receptions for 124 yards and two touchdowns. The performance marked the most yards receiving ever in a game by a Trojans tight end. Prior to that, Davis had never caught more than six passes or gained more than 68 receiving yards in a game.

At the end of the 2007 regular season, Davis was selected to the All-Pac-10 Conference first team by league coaches. He was also selected to the SI.com All-American Second Team. Davis became the first USC player to win the Mackey Award as the nation's top tight end. When asked his favorite game as a USC player, Davis noted the 2006 Rose Bowl.

2008 season
Davis was drafted in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. On May 4, the last day of the Redskins mini-camp, Davis overslept and missed the morning practice. Head Coach Jim Zorn said that he's young, and he understands that Davis just messed up. On July 19, Davis received a four-year contract from the Redskins worth $3.5 million, including $1.8 million in bonus money. On Monday, November 19, following a 14-10 home loss to the arch-rival Dallas Cowboys, Redskins head coach Jim Zorn was asked why Davis wasn't involved in the offense. Zorn answered: "It really is a matter of [Davis] doing his assignments correctly. It's a trust factor. It's not a speed factor. It's not an ability factor. But it makes no sense for me to put a guy out there who can run real fast, but not going in the right direction. Or in some cases not even go out. It's not that he forgot, it's just that it didn't register." Zorn said it's difficult to tolerate those kinds of mistakes, even if it happens just once or twice. "If it happens at all, it's hard to trust," Zorn said. "So that's part of the issue."

Davis was not much of a factor during the 2008 season, partially due to the lack of playing time, for the Washington Redskins. He caught three passes for 27 yards.

2009 season
During the 2009 season, in a Week 7 game vs. the Philadelphia Eagles, Davis caught his first touchdown and recorded a career high 7 catches for 78 yards. Davis was playing first-string tight end for most of this game due to an injury to starter Chris Cooley. He finished the season with 48 receptions for 509 yards and 6 touchdowns.

2010 season
In the 2010 season, Davis had 21 receptions for 316 receiving yards. He played in all 16 games of the season and started 9 of them.

2011 season
During the 2011 preseason, Davis switched from his original jersey number of 86 to 83. In the 2011 season, Davis would eventually become the starting tight end after starter, Chris Cooley, was placed on injured reserve. In Week 14, Davis and teammate, Trent Williams, were suspended for four games after repeatedly failing league drug tests. Starting in 12 games, he finished the season recording career highs of 59 receptions and 796 yards, as well as having three touchdowns. Despite his suspension, he was named the Redskins' 2011 Offensive Player of Year.

2012 season
On March 2, 2012, the Washington Redskins placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Davis. On March 16, 2012, he signed his one-year, franchise-player tender contract worth $5.446 million. After the release of Chris Cooley, he was officially named the Redskins' starting tight end. In the Week 7 game against the New York Giants, Davis tore his Achilles tendon in the first half, ending his 2012 season. Cooley was eventually brought back to replace Davis. He finished the season with 325 yards on 24 receptions and no touchdowns.

Personal
On June 29, 2012, a woman by the name of Makini R. Chaka filed a civil lawsuit against the Davis for an altercation that occurred between the two at a nightclub in Washington, D.C. Davis was accused of assaulting Chaka by dumping his drink on her. The case is currently ongoing and instead of hiring a lawyer, Davis has chosen to represent himself in court.