Former Stephenson High player signs with Falcons
Stephenson High School football alum Mike Davis is expected to sign a deal to play professional football with the Atlanta Falcons, Falcons officials reported March 23.
Davis graduated from Stephenson in 2012 and played for the South Carolina Gamecocks while attending college.
Davis had 1,923 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns as a senior at Stephenson, after adding 1,200 rushing yards, 14 touchdowns and a kickoff return for a touchdown as a junior. He totaled 3,390 yards and 34 touchdowns in three seasons at Stephenson.
Following his Stephenson career, Davis played three seasons at South Carolina. In 2013, he rushed for 1,183 yards and 11 touchdowns and was a second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection.
According to DeKalb County School District officials, Davis is second in several South Carolina all-time rushing categories, trailing South Carolina Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers in those categories.
Davis had 11 100-yard rushing games for the Gamecocks—putting him second behind Rogers—and Davis came up 18 yards shy in 2014 of becoming the second Gamecock running back to rush for 1,000 yards twice in a career.
The Stephenson alum was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. Davis has played for the Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers since being drafted.
According to Carolina Panthers officials, Davis posted a career season in 2020, playing in 15 games with a career-best 12 starts. He had his first 1,000-yard professional season with 1,015 scrimmage yards and a career-best 642 rush yards, 373 receiving yards and a team-high eight total touchdowns. Davis’ 32 broken tackles also ranked fifth in the NFL.
According to a report from NFL Network national insider Ian Rapoport, Davis is expected to sign with the Falcons “on a [two-year] deal worth [$5.5 million] with [$3 million] fully guaranteed in year one.”
