Big 12 Football: 50 best players of all-time
By Randy Gurzi
32. player. 837. . RB. Cyclones . Troy Davis
Big 12 Football best players of all-time: 32. Troy Davis, RB, Iowa State football
He might not be a household name, but if you were a fan of Iowa State in the mid-1990s, you knew exactly who Troy Davis was. The 5-foot-8, 183-pound running back was a workhorse for the Cyclones who absolutely blew up following a freshman campaign where he hardly saw the ball.
His 1994 season ended with him tallying just 187 yards on 35 carries but then in 1995, he took his game to another level. Davis was the featured back that season for Iowa State and ran for 2,010 yards and 15 touchdowns while carrying the ball 345 times.
If that wasn’t enough, he was even better in 1996, getting 402 carries for 2,185 yards and 21 touchdowns. He was so good that he was fifth in voting for the Heisman as a sophomore and second during his junior campaign. He was also the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and was recognized as a Consensus All-American in back-to-back seasons.
He could have ended up even higher on this list had he elected to play his senior season but that didn’t happen. Davis ended up forgoing his final year and went to the NFL where he was a third-round pick of the New Orleans Saints. He ended up with just 446 yards in the NFL and one touchdown before taking his talents north to the CFL.
He had much more success in the Canadian league, playing for eight seasons while rushing for 6,739 yards and 36 touchdowns. He even tasted victory as a champion, winning the Grey Cup in 2005 with the Edmonton Eskimos.