Aaron Davis will go down as one of the more successful walk-ons in Georgia history.
Davis has started 42 games, the most by a Bulldogs walk-on in more than three decades. He’ll have a chance to tie Nate Taylor’s believed record of 45 starts by a non-kicker walk-on.
It’s fair to say Davis had to overcome rocky conditions. Knee injuries in his final two years of high school left him a forgotten man. He passed on opportunities at West Georgia and Furman. Davis enrolled at UGA, not receiving a real opportunity until Jeremy Pruitt took over as defensive coordinator in what would become Mark Richt’s final season – the moment he realized he could make an impact.
Since then, he’s become an integral part of a top-tier SEC unit. The Bulldogs rank second in scoring defense, passing defense, rushing defense and total defense; behind Alabama in each category. Davis has started every game at cornerback, and 17 consecutively.
He’s had five interceptions and 176 tackles in his career, including a couple of game-changing plays that didn’t seem possible for someone who once thought he was ticketed for a small school.
“I’ve always said that’s why I love playing defensive back,” Davis said. “You get to play defense – you get to be the hammer and not the nail. But then when they throw the ball in the air, I get to become the receiver. So I’m really playing offense and defense.”
Earning a scholarship in 2015, Davis completed a finance degree last year and is working on a master’s in computer systems engineering, making it easy to understand why coaches and teammates are quick to praise his intelligence.
“Aaron’s a very smart guy,” fellow defensive back J.R. Reed said. “That was my first impression. This guy knows everything, where everybody needs to be. That’s what makes Aaron so great.”
Davis was one of 11 FBS players to be named part of the 2017 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, an honor bestowed upon those with outstanding community service. He’s a semifinalist for the Burlsworth Trophy, awarded to the best NCAA player who began as a walk-on.
“He’s a great leader, a great kid,” coach Kirby Smart said. “He’s really smart. I think he’ll be a CEO of some company one day. He’s a business major. He’s incredibly bright. I’m proud he decided to return and continue to play. He is one of those seniors who impacted the younger players. We want the younger players to understand the standard that’s been set by the older players. That’s got to be ingrained by how they practice.”
Looking back on a long career, Davis didn’t have trouble pinpointing his best memory, which also was his earliest. In the second quarter of his debut against Clemson, with the score tied 21-21, Davis leaped in front of a receiver to make an interception.
“That Clemson interception was special,” he said. “That being my first game. That was my first taste of college football ever.”
Fittingly, Davis finished his Athens slate as it began. He played his final game at Sanford Stadium against Kentucky on Saturday, delivering one more interception for the home fans in a 42-13 win.
“I’m really proud of the play he made,” Smart said of Davis’ first interception this season. “He went up and high-pointed the ball.”
For Davis, the play culminated a career he had dreamed of since he was a child.
“To close the book the way I opened it is special,” the Locust Grove native said. “This was my dream school growing up. You get here, it’s more than you ever would’ve imagined coming to a game or anything like that. Being out there on the field, it’s special moments like this that you’ll never forget.”
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