He was on his way to a memorable NFL career, but former LSU wide receiver Wendell Davis will forever be known for the one of the most tragic injuries in NFL history.
After a stellar career at LSU where Davis was named to back-to-back All-America teams in 1986 and 1987, the Chicago Bears selected him as the 27th pick of the first round in the 1988 NFL Draft.
By 1992, Davis was one of the premier receivers in the league. In 1991, Davis put up 945 yards on 61 catches and eight touchdowns. The next season he added 54 catches for 734 yards.
But during the 1993 season, one play set in motion the downfall of his career and the beginning of the end for artificial turf.
Davis was running a deep route in a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. As the underthrown ball approached, Davis planted his feet as he leapt into the air to make the catch. But when he planted to jump, he tore the patella tendons in both knees.
“I’ve seen a lot of things in my 29 years of coaching,” said current Kentucky defensive coordinator Mike Archer, who was the head coach at LSU during Davis’ senior year. “But that was one of the more unpleasant things I’ve seen. It was gross.”
The following day, newspapers across the country compared his fall to a man getting shot in the legs. “The Vet” claimed many players’ careers, but Davis’ moment in the gloom on the concrete-like turf comes up whenever the stadium is mentioned.
“I just thought it was horrible,” said Eddie Fuller, Davis’ good friend and teammate while at LSU. “It was probably the most unlucky thing I’ve ever seen. To have one knee blown out is one thing, but to have two knees blown out – and on the same play – that’s just unreal.”
“It was terrible,” said Ruffin Rodrigue, a 1988 All-Southeastern Conference offensive lineman at LSU and Davis’ college teammate. “We were all waiting for him to have that special, breakout season. I was thinking to myself, ‘How could something so tragic happen to someone so great?'”
In 2001, a preseason football game was cancelled between the Eagles and the Baltimore Ravens because of the faulty turf.
“That turf should have never been put down,” Rodrigue said.
Although his professional career never reached its potential, his football career at LSU remains one of the best in the school’s history.
And the last time LSU was ranked this high in early November was 1987, when Davis ran wild on opponents’ secondaries.
By the end of the 1987 football season, Davis was the most decorated LSU receiver in history and graduated from the Tigers football team ranked first in nearly every receiving category there is. He finished his LSU career No. 1 in the record books with 183 catches, 2,708 yards and 19 touchdowns.
It was a career that took the entire LSU program by surprise.
Coming out of Fair Park High School in Shreveport, Davis was not considered a top recruit in LSU’s 1984 signing class.
“He was a middle of the road recruit,” Rodrigue said. “He did not have a bunch of God-given talent, but he had an incredible work ethic. His work ethic took him to another level from everyone else.”
By his sophomore season, Davis worked his way into the starting lineup, but finished with 471 yards and just one touchdown. But his work ethic seemed to plant a memory in the minds of everyone who worked with him.
“He was the epitome of a self-made man,” Archer said. “He made himself into the player he was. Not everybody likes to practice. Everybody loves to put on the pads and run through the tunnel at Tiger Stadium, but they don’t always enjoy practice.
“Wendell loved practice. He was always the first guy on the practice field and the last guy to leave. He really enjoyed practice and watching film.”
Archer said he was not as fast as most players, but he worked diligently with the LSU track coaches to improve his speed and running technique.
Fuller said Davis was a student of the game who prided himself on being meticulous and running precise routes, which seemed to be a resounding consensus among the people who surrounded him during his college days.
“He was such a precise route runner,” Rodrigue said. “I’ve never seen a more precise route runner. He’s not as fast as LSU receivers today, he just ran great routes and got open. Sometimes I would forget about water breaks and just watch him run routes during practice. One time the receivers’ coach Jerry Sullivan looked at me and said, ‘He’s pretty good, isn’t he?'”
Sullivan, now the Arizona Cardinals’ offensive coordinator, said as Davis’ success grew, so did his confidence in himself.
“But the amazing thing was he remained humble,” Sullivan said. “He never sought glory for himself, which is different from a lot of other players today. He was quiet and never really tried to attract attention to himself. In that aspect, he was unique.”
During his junior season, Davis set LSU single-season receiving records with 80 catches for 1,244 yards and 11 touchdowns, earning him the first of his two All-America awards.
As a senior, Davis – the team captain – continued where he left off. He had another stellar season and ended up catching the SEC Most Valuable Player award with his soft hands.
In the Tigers’ 30-13 victory against South Carolina in the Gator Bowl following the 1987 season, Davis caught nine passes for 132 yards and scored three touchdowns as he added the Gator Bowl MVP to his growing collection of accolades.
“In that game, he was unbelievable,” Archer said. “They couldn’t cover him. South Carolina blitzed on almost every down, and [Tommy] Hodson hit him on a lot of hot routes.”
Archer said Davis and Hodson had an incredible relationship together.
“There was just something about those two,” Archer said. “They could read each other. They had a knack. Tommy trusted Wendell and Wendell trusted Tommy.”
Speaking about the Hodson-to-Davis connection is something Sullivan said really has no point.
“I think the record books speak for themselves,” Sullivan said. “There was just so much trust involved, and they created a special bond.”
After his unfortunate injury, he attempted to make a comeback, working diligently to get back into shape.
“He loved the game, and he didn’t let it keep him down,” Fuller said. “He overcame [the injury], and he tried to come back. I think that’s a testament to his character. Most people wouldn’t have tried to come back after such a horrible injury, but he did.
“It made him a tougher individual.”
Sullivan said toughness was never a question when observing Davis.
“To this day, in all the years I’ve coached, he is the toughest receiver I’ve had,” Sullivan said. “He was an incredible blocker. But the greatest thing about him was the respect he had for others and the respect he gained in return.”
Fuller said he and Davis got along real well throughout their college days and their NFL days – when Davis was with the Bears and Fuller with the Buffalo Bills.
“Wendell is a real easy-going guy,” Fuller said. “He is similar to me in personality, which I guess is why we hit it off so well.”
After his unsuccessful comeback attempt, Davis remained in Chicago with his wife Patricia, who is a successful attorney in the greater Chicago area. Davis owns and runs a sporting goods store in Chicago, working hard, no doubt.
“I never had any doubt about him in his life,” Sullivan said. “I always knew he would be a great citizen.”
During the past 16 years, the LSU record books have changed, with the 2001 Biletnikoff Award winner Josh Reed now holding the single-season and career receiving yards records.
But every time a receiver has a great year, his name will sound throughout the walls of Tiger Stadium, constantly being compared to Davis, the hard-working, productive receiver that left a lasting impression on everyone he met.