Aug. 1, 2008
NORMAL, Ill. -
As a player, Stafford Davis was a four-time All-Missouri Valley Football Conference selection on the Illinois State offensive line. Now, he will try to produce the same results as the newest member of head coach Denver Johnson's staff.
"Watching Stafford grow as an athlete, as a student, as a person and to see him receive two degrees from Illinois State has been incredibly rewarding," said Johnson. "Stafford has a great passion and love for the game. He enjoys working with people and accepts great challenges. He will be a great addition to the staff."
Davis will oversee the Redbird offensive line after spending the 2007 season as a graduate assistant. Last season, the ISU offense amassed 2,194 rushing yards on the season, which is the seventh-highest rushing total in school history, and averaged 402.8 yards of total offense per game.
"It is an honor and an extreme pleasure to be serving Illinois State in this role," said Davis. "It's going to be wonderful working with Coach Johnson every day. To work side-by-side with him, I'm going to become a better person and a better football coach. That's what this game is all about. We want to win a lot of games, but we also want to make the young men on the team better people, as well."
During the 2008 spring practice, Davis assisted current assistant coach Chris Patton with the defensive line.
The Orange Park, Fla., native ended his Redbird career playing center in 2005, after playing left guard his first three seasons. Davis played under Johnson and started every game of his collegiate career, finishing with 46-straight starting assignments.
He claimed first-team all-conference honors as a junior and senior. Davis was named a consensus All-American in 2005, after being named to the first team by The Sports Network, American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and the Associated Press.
In addition to a successful career on the field, Davis excelled in the classroom and was named to the league's all-academic team twice.
Davis earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from Illinois State in 2005, and earned his master's of business administration in July 2008.
