At 36, spurned quarterback Donnie Davis finally overcomes resentment, earns degree
Donnie Davis was supposed to be the future of Georgia Tech football. This was 1991, a year after Bobby Ross led the Jackets to a national championship, and the continued success of the program seemed ensured when Davis agreed to join the team.
A gifted passer and fleet-footed runner out of Burlington, N.C., Davis was the natural successor to quarterback Shawn Jones. A high school Parade All-American, Davis was listed by many as even better than recruiting classmates Heath Shuler and Eric Zeier, who went on to star at Tennessee and Georgia, respectively, and then in the NFL.
But as Robert Burns wrote, “The best laid schemes of mice and men oft go awry.”
Ross stepped down as Tech coach after the 1991 season, and his replacement, Bill Lewis, struggled immediately. When Davis finally was made the starting quarterback in 1993, the Jackets stumbled to a 5-6 record.
The following season, Lewis brought in transfer quarterback Tommy Luginbill and pushed Davis to wide receiver. The team won a single game. As the Yellow Jackets floundered, Davis felt his chance to shine being taken away. He spoke out and sparred with Lewis publicly. The challenges on the field spilled over into his academic and social life.
“I was robbed of a true college experience, from enjoying what should’ve been a huge part of my life,” Davis said.
Lewis resigned during the season, and Davis returned as quarterback of the 1995 squad, leading the Yellow Jackets to a 6-5 finish, including near upsets of Georgia and Arizona. But his NFL aspirations were shot.
He left school without earning his degree and joined the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League.
Playing against Kurt Warner in the 1997 Arena Bowl, Davis led the Rattlers to a championship and was named MVP. He returned to Atlanta in 2002 to play two seasons with the Georgia Force. When Davis decided to leave football behind, he reconnected with Zeier, by then working in banking. Zeier helped Davis get a job in mortgage banking in Atlanta.
Davis disliked driving past the Tech campus. And whenever acquaintances mentioned the Institute, he would steer the conversation in another direction.
Even though he enjoyed success in his new career at Capitol City Bank, Davis felt limited without a degree. “I just realized there was more out there,” he said, “and the bridge to it was a degree. I felt like I owed it to myself.”
Even as he looked to complete his education, Davis didn’t consider a return to Tech. Still bitter over those old wounds, he began a distance-learning program through another institution.
Davis’ one Tech connection was Joe Hamilton, HTS 07, who took over as quarterback in the 1996 season. A couple of years ago, Davis was a guest on Hamilton’s radio show. Also there was Wayne Hogan, associate director of Athletics at Tech.
“I said, ‘I’m not the biggest fan of Georgia Tech.’ Wayne asked why,” Davis said. “I started to think about it and realized I couldn’t put my finger on it.”
With Hogan’s help, Davis enrolled for classes in January 2008. Because so much had changed at the Institute, Davis had to retake several classes and take others that hadn’t been offered when he first was a student. Still, he graduated Dec. 12 with a degree in management and certificate in marketing.
He said the challenge was well worth the work.
“If I knew the effort, the sacrifice, I may have thought twice,” Davis said about returning to Tech. “This institution does not give to alternative learning styles. But I was more than halfway through before I realized I was nuts.”
Along the way Davis discovered his passion for international marketing. His goal is to become a marketing sales account executive at a global company. “And I will get there,” he said.
In returning to Tech, Davis also discovered a passion for sharing his experience and knowledge with current athletes. Through telling his story, he hopes to impress the importance of academics, even to those with a future in professional sports.
“I tell these kids, if you have a focus beyond sports, if things turn bad in your sport, which they will, you can focus on that other interest,” he said. “It’s tough, sitting on the bus to class and hearing other students talk about your athletic performance. That’s a lot of onus on a kid.”
Davis, now 36, praised the Athletic Association for improving how it supports athletes and helps them balance school and sports. He now considers himself a part of the Institute, something unimaginable just a few years ago.
But when asked if he would want to talk to Lewis, his former coach, Davis gave a pause before answering. “I would love to,” he said. “I could not have done that years ago. I would’ve been reacting from anger. I’d want to ask, ‘How personal was this to you?’ We never really sat down and talked. He’s never really addressed it. He’s never said he screwed up. It’s a hard pill for me to swallow.”
Davis said that more than anything, he’s happy to be in a position he might not have been in if he’d played in the NFL.
“I want to let [Lewis] know he may have set me back, but he didn’t sit me down,” he said. “I’m so proud to be here at this time in my life, ready to begin a career, to know that I have a future.”
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