Class of 2012
“Michael Davis was one of the top running backs I ever coached,” said Young. “He had great vision and good speed. Michael could really see holes open up and once he cleared the line of scrimmage, he was gone. I was very fortunate to coach a player of Michael’s caliber.” Davis was a three-year starter for Elkmont High School (1984-86) and earned All-State honors during his senior season. He rushed for 3,783 yards during his high school career. Davis scored 30 career touchdowns for the Red Devils, including a personal best 95 yard scamper against West Morgan. He was named to the All-Area and All-County teams three times.
Davis says he is honored to be inducted into the Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame. “It is a great honor,” said Davis, who now resides in Aurora, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. “I have wonderful memories of playing football at Elkmont. I can remember walking into the stadium on Friday nights and feeling the energy in the air. It just seems like yesterday I was experiencing all the great traditions that go along with playing high school football in Limestone County. I had some great teammates at Elkmont. We didn’t win a lot of games but we played with a lot of effort.”
One of Davis’s former high school teammates is Elkmont assistant football Coach Duane Wells who says, Davis was a great football player but even a better person. “Michael was always very humble and you don’t always see that with successful high school athletes. He was a great teammate and friend. As an offensive lineman, it was an honor to block for Michael because I knew he was going to run as hard as he could every play,” said Wells.
Davis did run hard as he punished opposing defensives with his never give up running style. His top rushing performance in high school was against Hatton as he rushed for a school record 330 yards. “Everything kind of came together that night,” said Davis. “I remember that we played at Hatton and it was a cold, rainy night. The offensive line blocked great and they couldn’t stop us.”
Young says Davis’s performance against Hatton while great, was close to being one of the top games in the history of Alabama high school football. “Michael ran for well over 300 yards. However, had he not had two long runs called back, he would have challenged the single game record for most rushing yards in Alabama high school football history,” said Young.
His successful high school football career caught the attention of college recruiters from schools like Mississippi State, North Carolina State, North Alabama among others. He eventually signed with Murray State of the Ohio Valley Conference. “Murray State offered what I was looking for in a college and that was a school could give me a quality education and had a solid football program. Murray State delivered on what they promised and I had a wonderful experience there,” said Davis.
Davis would lead pass happy Murray State in rushing during all four seasons he was in the program. He would rush for nearly 1600 yards in his career averaging 4.0 yards per carry. His top rushing effort as a collegiate player was 130 yards against Eastern Illinois.
Elkmont High School head boys basketball coach Garth Garris said Davis possessed a tremendous work ethic. “I was a teammate of Michael’s in high school and he lived in the weight room. He made himself a tremendous player through hard work and he carried that same work ethic to the practice and playing fields. Michael ran the ball hard and never took plays off. He was a total team player and great leader. Michael was very humble and was a friend to many here at Elkmont including me. I am so happy and proud that he is being inducted into the Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame,” said Garris.
Davis now serves as Vice President, Commercial Print Sector at Williams Lea of North America, a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company headquartered in the UK. His work requires Davis to travel extensively and sometimes out of the country. A non-business trip he is looking forward to is the one in June that will see him inducted into the Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame. “I am delighted to be inducted into the hall of fame and are looking forward to reconnecting with my ex high school teammates and coaches. Hopefully, I will be able to see some of the people that supported me and cheered for me during my career at Elkmont High School,” said Davis.
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