Dexter Davis in action at Clemson on a 1991 Wild Card Draft Football card. | Wild Card
Dexter Davis in action at Clemson on a 1991 Wild Card Draft Football card. | Wild Card
Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney earlier this month presented the 2022 Brian Dawkins Lifetime Achievement Award to former Tigers All-ACC defensive back Dexter Davis.
According to a university press release, the accolade recognizes an ex-Clemson player who has consistently demonstrated the qualities of leadership, community service and other high qualities since their graduation.
The first Clemson true freshman to start at cornerback, Davis was a three-year starter from 1988-1990, who helped the Tigers land in the top 12 of the final AP poll each year.
“Clemson’s 1990 defense was the first in school history to lead the nation in total defense,” the university said on its website. “Davis scored two touchdowns from his cornerback position that year, one on a 52-yard fumble return at NC State and one on a 30-yard interception return against North Carolina.”
He decided to declare for the 1991 NFL Draft following his junior season in which he tallied a career-high 85 tackles and snagged a conference-best six interceptions, the release said.
The then-Phoenix Cardinals made the Sumter, South Carolina, native a fourth-round pick in the NFL Draft.
Davis appeared in 59 games between the Cardinals and the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams.
Following his retirement from the NFL, Davis began his coaching career at Morgan State as a member of good friend Stump Mitchell’s staff.
He completed his degree while overseeing the Bears defensive backs.
The switch to high school coaching led to Davis’s return to his native South Carolina where he coached at Battery Creek High School in Charleston and launched the program at Southside Christian in Greenville.
Davis then headed to Germany to coach NFL Europe’s Hamburg Sea Devils.
He currently serves as the president and CEO of Eagle Universal Services, a company that provides unique engineering and construction contracting services.
According to Clemson, Brian Dawkins Lifetime Achievement Award recipients must be out of school at least 10 years to qualify.
The award’s namesake was its inaugural honoree.
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