University of Tennessee Athletics
Biggest Journey Puts Davis In Hall Of Fame
August 04, 2015 | Football
By Josh Lively
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
UTSports.com
Tennessee’s Vol For Life Coordinator came to UT as a young football player and now mentors those that enter the program the same way he did, helping them grow and develop off the field that same way the Vols’ coaching staff helps them to grow on the field. It is the time in between that grew to define Davis and gave him the perspective and the voice that he now uses with the student-athletes he works with on a daily basis. In his 48 years, Davis’ journey has taken him all the way from an undersized high school player in Fort Valley, Ga. to being the No. 8 overall pick in the National Football League draft in 1991 to being the runner-up in NBC’s hit show The Biggest Loser.
Humble Beginnings
Davis was the youngest of eight children and the desire to grow past the struggles of small-town life took him to Sweetwater, Tenn., to attend the Tennessee Military Institute prep school. Despite his successful career in football to that point, Davis never considered going to college to play football, but as he got older, his body and his life changed.
“I went from 5-11 and 175 pounds to 6-5 and 305 pounds in about a year, so after that, everything changed,” Davis said. “All of a sudden, I had the ability to possibly get a scholarship to college.”
Once he arrived at TMI, Davis’ name began to pop up throughout recruiting meetings across the country.
“It was different for me because I was unknown because I hadn’t played,” Davis said about his recruitment process. “We had a blue chip, red chip and white chip rating system, but no one knew about me. There was a small school in my hometown called Fort Valley State College at the time. It had a well-known coach, but it was in Division-III.
TMI played a schedule against the junior varsity squads of major schools, a slate that sent him back to his home state to play in front of legendary Georgia head coach Vince Dooley.
“We played the University of Georgia’s JV with Coach Dooley in the stands, but they never recruited me,” he said. “I thought it was interesting. I was a Georgia boy and couldn’t even get a hello from the coach at the time. That put them off the list.”
A team that did take notice was Tennessee, where offensive line coach Phillip Fulmer saw a player that would make a difference on Johnny Majors’ squad.
The transition from his high school and prep school to a major university wasn’t an easy one, though. Still new to the game, Davis had a lot to learn before he was ready to takes his first steps onto Shields-Watkins Field.
“I simply had no idea of what to do,” Davis said. “I had never played football before, so I can honestly say Coach Fulmer taught me everything I know. Coming from a small town with none of my family going to college, my primary goal was to graduate regardless of what the degree was in. I was determined to get a degree.”
Although he lettered for the Vols each of his fours years on Rocky Top, Davis didn’t begin to garner national attention until his junior and senior seasons. In 1989 and 1990, he was named First Team All-SEC at tackle. He added First Team All-American honors in 1990 and earned the Jacobs Blocking Award presented to the Southeastern Conference’s top blocker, one of only 13 Vols ever to win the award.
His teams were from 35-11-3 from 1987-90 with a pair of SEC Championships. He was a part of two SEC Championship teams and three bowl victories, including a come-from-behind win over Virginia to cap his career in the 1991 Sugar Bowl.
“I had a good time and always stayed out of trouble,” Davis said. “I always had some great mentors like the Harry Galbreath, Bruce Wilkerson, Daryle Smith and just all of those guys who came ahead of me and taught me the ropes.”
Football wasn’t the only love of his life at Tennessee. He also met Carrie, his wife, at UT. He fulfilled his primary goal in coming to UT as well, graduating with an Urban Studies degree with a focus in City Planning.
A Big Next Step
Four years after coming to UT with virtually no football experience, Antone Davis was a first-round pick in the 1991 NFL Draft, selected eighth overall by the Philadelphia Eagles.
“Being drafted was fantastic,” Davis said. “By the time I got drafted, I had been projected so high for so long that it was almost like just another day in the sense that I knew I was going to be drafted, but I didn’t know where. To me, the way my college football career clicked along, it was just the next step. It wasn’t that I was arrogant. It was logical to me based on the ratings and my performance.”
Davis had come a long way from being a boy in Fort Valley that no one had heard of. It was a challenging road, but his coaches helped guide him to success.
“Coach Fulmer always kept us in such a place that we always critiqued ourselves, and we found the flaws in our game,” Davis said. “By the time I had gotten drafted, I was still worried if I was good enough as a player. Even though I was projected high, I never allowed myself to get bigheaded. I never allowed myself to think about it, and I didn’t understand the enormity of it until long after.”
Davis spent seven years in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons, playing from 1991-97. He started 87 of his 97 NFL games on the offensive line.
“It was fun, but it was tough,” Davis said about his time in the NFL. “I didn’t get an opportunity to give everything back to the game that it gave me. In football, or even most things, you shouldn’t make excuses, but I had four head coaches and five offensive line coaches in seven years. When you change coaches, you often times change philosophies in blocking. While scheme and technique are the same, every coach has his nuances and changes, so you have to adjust to each new coach. By having that many coaches, it was just having that many coaches in a short amount of time didn’t allow you to settle into your game.”
He walked away after seven NFL seasons and set out for the next phase of his life.
“After I retired, I moved to Florida and just cruised through life,” Davis said. “I worked as a sports agent for a few years as well as bought and sold real estate. I was doing things to stay busy. I started raising my family.”
Life seemed to be going well for Davis, but what helped him thrive and succeed in football began to create serious health issues in everyday life: his weight.
Looking for a way to get his weight under control, Davis found an answer in NBC’s hit show The Biggest Loser, a show geared towards helping people with weight issues.
“I decided to go on the show because I was at the point in my life where I needed some kind of change, and I wasn’t able to start it myself,” Davis said. “The Biggest Loser was a great opportunity, and it gave me a kick-start in getting my weight under control and getting to the point where I could manage my weight. Health reasons were my main number one reason for going. It was a great experience, but it was tough and extremely difficult. It was probably the most difficult thing I had ever done.”
Davis finished as the runner up during the show’s 12th season, losing a total of 202 pounds during a 13-week span.
After being away from football for some time, Davis went back to his roots searching for his next step in life. He decided to try back with the University of Tennessee in hopes of working with the offensive line, a dream of Davis’.
“I came over to talk to Coach [Derek] Dooley about being a possible graduate assistant with the offensive line,” Davis said. “He told me that he didn’t have a position open, but the Vol For Life position would be available, and he wanted me to fit that role. I looked at that as an opportunity to get into the system and possible coach the offensive line one day.”
A Fit To A “T”
Davis found his new job even more fulfilling than he could have ever imagined. His experiences in football and in life made him the perfect fit for a job title and a program that was still being clearly defined. When Butch Jones took over as head football coach following the 2012 season, Davis was empowered to grow the program into perhaps the best off-field resource in college football.
“He is invaluable,” Jones said. “He has walked in their shoes. He has played at Tennessee football and played to a high level of achievement. We talk about pride in performance. He performed here, and he is a great mentor. He is a great resource for our staff and players. He has many roles, and he does a great job with all of them.”
As the coordinator, Davis’ ultimate goal of the VFL program is to reshape the culture of the program into one that produces not only great players and teams but also even greater men. His job creates new and unique experiences, allowing him to interact with past and present players in the Tennessee football program.
“It is exciting and different every day,” Davis said. “You have 105 players that you’re responsible for. You never know what each daily challenge is going to bring, but there are a lot of opportunities to have an impact as well as mold and mentor these players.” Davis’ goal for the Vol For Life program is to build it into a top-tier program in the country. Attempting things that other teams in the country haven’t done, he wants it to be an example of the capabilities of a program like Vol For Life could be.
"I think he does a really good job,” said former Tennessee wide receiver Jayson Swain. “He connects the program with former players. He does a really good job with the program.”
The two met for the first time after Davis became the VFL Coordinator, remaining good friends since then.
“He is a guy that is passionate about Tennessee,” Swain said. “He is a family man and works hard. He wants to solve problems and is easy to talk to.”
During his time in school, a degree was the biggest concern for Davis. That same mentality continues today for the student-athletes he mentors.
“In my opinion, the very best advice I can offer to our players is to make sure they get their degrees,” Davis said. “It means so much to finish school and really remember the purpose of why you came. Also, be the best player you can be by having a great work ethic. If players would just simply have a strong work ethic, they would be way more successful than they understand. A lot of times, players can’t see that far down the road, but if you come in and do everything you can to make yourself a better person or player, you can’t fail at Tennessee.”
With plenty more left to do during his life, Davis will continue his work ethic to help rebuild the Tennessee program as well as serve as the standard family man outside of his job.
“My life has been one great example of what God is capable of doing,” Davis said. “If you were with me walking from the time I was 5-years-old, you would know what I mean. It is hard to believe where I am at and done the things that I have done with the start I had. My life has been fantastic. I have no complaints. I have the best family in the world, and I have been extremely lucky and fortunate to have the experiences that I’ve had.”
