Charlie Davis (2022) - CU Athletic Hall of Fame - University of Colorado Athletics

Charlie Davis

Induction:
2022
Class:
1973

Earned three letters at running back under head coach Eddie Crowder from, 1971-73 … One of CU’s “super-sophomores” on the 1971 team that finished No. 3 in the nation behind Nebraska and Oklahoma … Earned honorable mention All-America honors that season, becoming just the second sophomore in CU history to earn any kind of All-America mention at the time (joining Bobby Anderson in 1967); he was a second-team UPI All-American in 1972 … He earned second-team All-Big 8 accolades that year (behind Nebraska’s Jeff Kinney and Oklahoma’s Greg Pruitt), but would earn first-team all-conference honors as a junior in ’72 and second-team again in ’73 … Had an outstanding debut year, starting with a 174-yard, two-touchdown effort in CU’s 31-21 win at No. 9 Louisiana State, a record for a first game by a player in a CU uniform that would stand until 2020 (Jarek Broussard) … Two weeks later, in the Buffs’ 20-14 win at No. 6 Ohio State, he rushed for 135 yards; he was named the Big 8’s player of the week on both occasions after earning the national player of the week nod for the LSU game … His 1,386 yards in ’71 were the most in a single season by a Colorado player at the time, and still stands fifth in school annals for a single year … Finished 16th in the Heisman Trophy voting that season … Still holds some 48 years later the school mark for the most single game rushing yards, when he carried 34 times for 342 yards and a touchdown in a 40-6 rout over Oklahoma State (and was the league’s player of the week a third time that season) … The long run of his career of 67 yards against the Cowboys put him over 1,000 yards for the season … Finished his career as CU’s all-time leading rusher with 2,958 yards, a number that still stands sixth today … Ran for 100 or more yards 13 times, also a historical best at the time and a number that is still fifth … His 5.50 yards per attempt ranked 10th among the 56 players in school history with 1,000 or more yards … His 24 rushing touchdowns tied for the second-most at the time (and remain 10th) … Also had 17 receptions for 131 yards and two scores … Played in the 1973 East-West Shrine and 1974 American Bowl postseason games after his senior year (ran for 60 yards in the latter) … First-team Academic All-Big 8 and a second-team Academic All-American as a sophomore in ’71 … He was drafted in the second round (48th overall) by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 1974 National Football League draft … He played three seasons in the NFL with Cincinnati (1974-75) and Tampa Bay (1976), rushing for 482 yards (1 TD) with 22 receptions for 203 yards … He scored the first offensive touchdown in franchise history for the expansion Buccaneers against the Baltimore Colts in the fourth game of the ’76 season … Nagging injuries ended his professional career prematurely … Born January 6, 1952 in West Columbia, Texas.