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Utah State All-American defensive back Will Davis became the fifth Aggie selected in the NFL Draft in the past three years as he was taken in the third round with the 93rd overall pick by the Miami Dolphins.
Davis becomes the 18th Utah State football players selected in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft, including the fifth since 2003, joining wide receiver Kevin Curtis (3/74) in 2004, tight end Chris Cooley (3/81) in 2005, cornerback Curtis Marsh (3/90) in 2011 and linebacker Bobby Wagner (2/47) in 2012. Utah State has now had 115 players total selected in the NFL Draft.
Davis is also the third Aggie ever to be drafted by Miami, joining offensive lineman Shawn Murphy (4/110) in 2007 and running back Ron Holmes (15/423) in 1976.
Davis, a 6-foot-0, 186-pound cornerback from Spokane, Wash. (Central Valley HS/DeAnza College), was named a third-team All-American by CBSSports.com, a fourth-team All-American by Phil Steele, an honorable mention All-American by SI.com and earned first team All-Western Athletic Conference honors as a senior as he finished the 2012 season ranking tied for second in the nation in passes defended (1.69 pg) and tied for 17th nationally in interceptions (0.38 pg). Davis concluded the season with 17 pass breakups, three quarterback hurries, 4.5 tackles for loss and 64 total tackles (46-solo, 18-assist), as he ranked 35th in the WAC with 4.9 tackles per game.
As a senior, Davis registered five interceptions to rank as the most by a USU player since 2003, and those five picks came in consecutive games, which is the longest streak by a USU player since 1973. Davis also returned an interception 59 yards for a touchdown against Idaho, which was USU's first pick-six since 2007. Davis' 100 interception return yards in 2012 rank tied for the seventh-most in a single-season in school history.
Davis, who was named the WAC's Defensive Player of the Week twice in 2012, was the first player in 2012 to intercept Louisiana Tech quarterback Colby Cameron, who had an NCAA single-season record 444 pass attempts with an interception before being picked off by Davis.
Doug Hoffman is the assistant athletic director for Utah State University Athletic Media Relations.
