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Terrell Davis fulfilled a lifelong dream by playing in the Super Bowl--and then he took it one
step further. Davis not only set a Super Bowl record with 3 rushing touchdowns and earned
most valuable player honors in Denver's 31-24 victory in Super Bowl XXXII, he did all this in his
hometown of San Diego. He rushed for 157 yards while missing almost an entire quarter with an
extremely painful migraine headache, a problem that has plagued him since he played Pop Warner football.
Davis, in mourning from the death of his father to lupus, didn't even play football his first two
years of high school. When he transferred from Morse High to Abraham Lincoln Prep, he played
nost tackle. As a senior at Marcus Allen's alma mater, Davis switched to running back. He didn't
threaten any records held by Marcus Allen, Lincoln Prep's best known alum, but Davis was good enough
to go to Long Beach State. His coach at Long Beach, the legendary George Allen, died in 1990, and
the school soon after dropped football. Davis transferred to Georgia and he played well enough
to be drafted, but not until the sixth round, after 20 backs had already been taken.
Davis entered the NFL like a seasoned pro instead of an overlooked rookie. He rushed for 1,117 yards
in just 14 games in 1995, good for an AFC-leading 4.7 yards per carry. He topped the AFC in rushing
the next two seasons, including 10 games of more than 100 yards and an NFL-high 15 touchdowns in
1997. He rushed for 100 yards in all three playoff games to lead the Broncos to the Super Bowl;
then he helped them win it, headache and all. |
