It’s one of the toughest leagues in all of sports today, making your name heard in the NFL is a long and tough journey that very few can accomplish. It takes a lot of heart and glory just to make it through four years of college at a high level, and proceed with getting picked up by a team in the NFL.
Former LSU quarterback Rohan Davey has experienced what few athletes have experienced. It wasn’t an easy ride for Davey, but as tough as nails as this quarterback is, determination has brought him through what he has accomplished. Davey started his path of success at Hialeah-Miami Lakes High School in Miami, Florida. This is where Davey would spend his years playing many sports, but coming into his own as a football standout his junior year of high school passing for over 4,000 yards and 52 touchdowns in just two seasons. After Davey’s senior year, many colleges would try and recruit him to be their future quarterback, but non-other than LSU would become his top school.
The start of his college years would be the beginning of a long and unforgettable journey in which he led the LSU Tigers to multiple wins, and would bring the unranked Tigers to the top ten in the country his senior year. Davey would see no playing time his freshmen year at LSU, but would share time at the quarterback position his sophomore and junior year. “Competition makes everyone better. Obstacles you have to overcome makes you a better player, and also makes the team better overall,” said Davey.
Davey’s senior year would become one of the greatest overall performances by a quarterback in LSU history. Davey would be the first quarterback at LSU to pass over 3,000 yards in a season, with 3,347 in the air. Davey even passed the highly noted Peyton Manning’s record season of 3,287 yards his junior season at Tenn.
“Everything that happened was rewarding, even being able to have your teammates vote you in for team captain was a good moment my senior year,” said Davey.
Davey came into his own his senior year at LSU, leading the team to major victories and a SEC Championship over number two Tennessee. One of the greatest accomplishments that Davey had done his break out senior year was lead his team to the Sugar Bowl vs. number seven Illinois. Davey would pass for more than 400 yards, leading his team to a 47-34 victory, naming him the MVP of the Sugar Bowl.
When asked Davey what were his best performances of his college career, he replied, ” The Sugar Bowl was my greatest accomplishment, being able to compete and what it meant. The Lights and the big stage it was on,” said Davey, “We were number eighth in the country, and after we won the Sugar Bowl we were ranked number four. If it wasn’t for an early loss to Old Miss that year, we would have had a shot at the National Championship.”
After Davey’s magical season at LSU, many NFL teams were eyeing Davey because of his tough size and rocket arm. The New England Patriots picked the young gunslinger Davey in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL Draft, to play behind the young Tom Brady who had just came off a Super Bowl Championship. “Being able to go to New England, it was one of the best things for me. I learned everything, where the defense is and how the defense worked, I learned things that I didn’t know were possible. Tom was great,” said Davey.
After a couple seasons with the Pats, Davey went to NFL Europe to hone his skills on the gridiron so hoping future teams will see his improvement. “NFL Europe helped my experience with playing, but what I thought would happen was give me a better opportunity in the NFL,” said Davey, “The starting quarterback for the 49ers, J.T. O’Sullivan, got a starting job, I just didn’t get the same opportunity when I came back. I even played against him in the World Bowl in Europe.” Davey would complete another great season in Europe and would bring his team to the World Bowl, in which he would be named the World Bowl MVP for the Berlin Thunder.
In August of 2005, Davey lost his job to former Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie for the number two job behind Brady, only to come back again to play for the Arizona Cardinals for a short time. Davey was never given a fair opportunity to make an impact in the NFL starting with the Pats backing up Brady, but he strived for playing time and he would never give up. Davey was given a chance to play in the Arena Football League as he excelled right away in the starting position for the New York Dragons.
As of April 2008, Davey began to practice for the Cleveland Gladiators. “It’s a very different experience. It will take a couple of years to get used to,” Davey said. “I’ll play Arena football for a couple more years, but I’ll go back to the NFL if I get another opportunity.” Coaching is also in his future, as he wants to teach players how to use your instinct and talent to the football field with teamwork and team unity.
What Davey has done on the football field reflects is hard work and determination. No matter where Davey goes next in his football career, let it be known that what he accomplished and how he got to the NFL was not an easy task.