Charles Davis (defensive back) facts for kids
Davis in 2018
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| No. 22 | |
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| Position: | Safety |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | November 14, 1964 Elizabethton, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight: | 195 lb (88 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | New Paltz (NY) |
| College: | Tennessee |
| Undrafted: | 1987 |
| Career history | |
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Charles Franklin Davis (born November 14, 1964) is a famous American football analyst. He is known for explaining games and players on TV. Currently, he works for NFL on CBS, where he talks about NFL games with Ian Eagle.
Charles also helps cover preseason games for the Tennessee Titans. You might also know his voice from the Madden NFL video game series. He has been an analyst for the game since 2017, working with Brandon Gaudin. He also works for the NFL Network. In the past, he has worked for other big sports channels like Fox Sports, TBS, and ESPN.
Before becoming a commentator, Charles played football himself. He was a safety for the Tennessee Volunteers college team from 1982 to 1986. He even earned a master's degree in history while studying there. Today, he lives in Windermere, Florida, with his wife, Lisa. His son, Parker, played college basketball, and his daughter, Taylor, started her own candle brand.
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Early Life and High School Sports
Charles Davis was born in Elizabethton, Tennessee. When he was two years old, his family moved to New Paltz, New York. His father, Franklin, was a high school coach for both football and basketball.
Growing up, Charles was a talented athlete. He played football, basketball, and baseball at New Paltz High School. In football, he played several positions. He was a quarterback, a defensive back, and even a kicker.
During his senior year, he was a "dual-threat quarterback." This means he was good at both throwing and running the ball. He threw for 742 yards and six touchdowns. He also ran for 738 yards and scored eleven touchdowns. On defense, he made four interceptions. As a kicker, he made 15 extra points and one field goal. He was recognized as an All-State player in both his junior and senior years.
College Football Days
Charles Davis received a football scholarship to the University of Tennessee. He chose this school partly because one of his childhood heroes, Condredge Holloway, had played there.
Playing for the Tennessee Volunteers
After his first year (1982) as a "redshirt" (meaning he practiced but didn't play in games), he changed positions. He moved from quarterback to free safety. He quickly became a starter for the team during the 1983 season.
In 1983, he made key plays, including interceptions against Pittsburgh and LSU. He also had an important interception that helped Tennessee win 7–0 against Rutgers. He finished that season with 58 tackles and four interceptions, which was the most on his team.
In the 1984 season, Charles broke his fibula (a bone in his lower leg). He played through the pain but missed the next three games. Despite the injury, he still made 34 tackles and two interceptions that year.
The 1985 season was a memorable one for Tennessee. Charles was named to the Preseason All-SEC team. He had 59 tackles and helped force two fumbles. In the team's big 35–7 win over Miami in the 1986 Sugar Bowl, Charles had six tackles and an interception.
For the 1986 season, Charles was again named to the Preseason All-SEC team. He intercepted a pass and ran it back 55 yards for a touchdown in a game against New Mexico. He ended his final college season with 83 tackles and four interceptions. He was also honored for his good grades, being named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
Charles earned a degree in political science before his senior year. Later, he went on to earn a master's degree in history.
Becoming a Sports Commentator
After college, Charles briefly signed with the Dallas Cowboys in 1987 but did not make the team. He then decided to go to graduate school.
Early Steps in Broadcasting
His first experience as a commentator was calling a University of Tennessee scrimmage game in 1987. He worked alongside a famous announcer named John Ward.
Charles explored different sports jobs early in his career. He was an assistant coach at the University of the Pacific for a year. He also worked for the Southeastern Conference and became a director at the United States Olympic Training Center. For three years (1994–1996), he was an assistant athletic director at Stanford University.
In 1996, Charles started working at Disney's Wide World of Sports. In 1998, he made history as the first African-American to be a tournament director for a PGA Tour golf event, the Walt Disney World Golf Classic.
In 1997, Fox Sports South hired him to analyze college football games. He also hosted a morning radio show in Orlando, Florida, from 2000 to 2002. During this time, he was a sideline reporter for SEC football games and co-hosted a sports show called Sunshine Network Live. He even called Arena Football League games from 2003 to 2004. Charles also appeared often on The Golf Channel.
National Broadcasting Career
Charles's career grew to national television. In basketball, he was a sideline reporter for CBS during the 2001 and 2002 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournaments.
Starting in 2002, Charles joined TBS as a game analyst for college football. He also worked as a sideline reporter for NBA on TNT games.
In 2006, Charles moved to Fox Sports as an analyst. He called several major college football games, including the 2007 BCS National Championship Game and the 2008 and 2009 championship games. He also covered the famous upset of Michigan by Appalachian State in 2007.
From 2009 to 2010, he worked on NFL on FOX games. When Fox expanded its college football coverage in 2011, Charles teamed up with Gus Johnson as the lead commentators for college football games until 2014. They also called some NFL games together.
Charles has been a key part of NFL Network's coverage of events like the Senior Bowl and NFL Scouting Combine. He also analyzed future draft picks on a show called Path to the Draft. From 2007 to 2009, he was an analyst on College Football Now, a show with daily college football news. He also called games for the 2007 Texas Bowl.
In 2008, Charles joined the NFL on Fox postgame show, working with football legends like Jimmy Johnson and Terry Bradshaw. He also called preseason games for the Atlanta Falcons. In 2014, he provided commentary for Super Bowl XLVIII for an international broadcast.
In 2015, Charles returned to the NFL on FOX full-time. In 2016, he and Brandon Gaudin became the new commentators for the Madden NFL video game series. They have continued to be the voices of the game for many years, including Madden NFL 25.
Starting with the 2017 NFL season, Charles became part of Fox's main broadcast team with Kevin Burkhardt and Pam Oliver. In 2020, he moved back to CBS to become their number two game analyst, working with Ian Eagle.
