Q&A: Former Bulldog Thomas Davis returns to graduate, comments on defense
Q&A WITH THOMAS DAVIS
Yes, Thomas Davis knows a thing or two about tackling. Ask Charlie Whitehurst. (AJC photo)
Just got off a teleconference call with former Georgia football star Thomas Davis. An All-American safety for the Bulldogs (2002-04), Davis now plays linebacker for the Carolina Panthers, who just last week signed him to a five-year contract extension. Thanks to the NFL lockout, Davis recently completed coursework for his UGA degree in housing and consumer economics. He’s getting a pass out of training camp this weekend in order to return to Athens and walk in graduation ceremonies on Saturday. Following is the what Davis had to say to reporters on the eve of that special occasion.
Q: How did you go about finishing your degree requirements from a logistics standpoint?
A: “The good thing for me is I was a redshirt guy. I left school after being in school for 3 ½ years and I didn’t have a lot of work left to complete in order to reach my degree requirements. Actually I had three classes I had to complete. With the lockout being in place I was able to take advantage of that. I was coming off a knee injury, so that allowed me time to heal my injury as well as go back and finish classes online. I was able to take those classes online. So it all worked out and I’ll be back there this weekend.”
Q: So you really wanted to attend the graduation ceremonies?
A: “Without a doubt. I think it defeats the purpose of actually going back and doing it if you don’t take advantage of the opportunity to go back and be a part of the students that have gone through the same thing and are actually graduating.”
Q: Did you find online courses easier or harder than actually attending classes?
A: “It was just hard the fact that I’ve been out of school for six years to get back in the swing of actually doing classwork. But I think the thing that helped me out was the fact we have to do so much studying for the game of football. We do a lot of work throughout the week. By me continuing to do that stuff on this level allowed me to make the transition a little bit easier. If I wasn’t playing football then trying to get back into it would have been really tough.”
Q: How do you feel about the new collective bargaining agreement the players and NFL were able to negotiate?
A: “We’re definitely excited about it, the players and the owners. We believe it’s an agreement that’s going to be beneficial for both sides. We’re just looking forward to see how things shake out in the years to come. But for us, we still actually can’t participate, guys who signed extensions or new deals or free agents. We actually can’t participate until Thursday, so it’s still kind of frustrating for a lot of us. But we understand that there are still technicalities. With it being a new CBA there are stil some things that need to get worked out. But we’re looking forward to getting back on the field.”
Q: How are you feeling with regard to your second ACL reconstruction?
A: “I’m feeling great. Ready to go.”
Q: Will there be many of the Davis family in attendance on Saturday?
A: “I have a whole lot of my family coming up. Everybody’s excited. I’m the first one in my immediate family to actually graduate from college. So it’s a huge honor, not only for me but for my Mom. It’s something that my grandmother, before she passed, she wanted me to get done. I just wished that she’d been here to be able to see me do it. Unfortunately she’s not. She’s now with God and I know she’s somewhere smiling down on me.”
Q: You were a part of the Georgia’s most successful run in 20-something year when you were here. The Bulldogs are coming off a 6-7 season and only won eight games the year before that. What are your impressions?
A: “I think we just have to get back to playing Georgia football. We have to be more physical and more aggressive in our approach and I think that will make all the difference. I think we have great talent at Georgia. We’ve just got to go out there and show everybody what we’re capable of doing. I don’t think the guys have been doing that week in and week out. I know Coach Richt is a great coach and he’s going to light a fire under those guys. I definitely expect some big things out of Georgia this year.”
Q: You talked to the team before the Vanderbilt game last year. What was your message?
A: “Basically, I told them we have never been considered a team that was soft and didn’t go out make people feel like they just left a fight when they left the game. I don’t feel like our defense in particular really made teams feel threatened to come in and play us. When we played defense, we had guys like Greg Blue and Odell Thurman and David Pollack, guys who would really come up and lay their number on you. You would feel it even after the game was over. Even when they went into the next week those guys still had on their mind that hit you laid on them. I don’t think we had anybody on that defense that was doing that, that was presenting that intimidation factor. I told those guys how I felt about it.
“In the NFL, we have a lot of guys from all over and we have a bunch of South Carolina guys on our team. For a guy to come up to me and say, ‘what happened to Georgia? You guys are soft,” you know, for me, that did something to me.”
Q: So do you see them turning it around this year?
A: “I definitely think that we have potential around the board. I know the guys had to make a transition and it’s tough to make a transition from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense. I do understand that. That’s been my thing, sitting back and watching not only as a former player but as a fan of the sport of college football. I’m just looking for this team going out and showing everybody what we’re capable of doing and doing it.”
In case you’ve forgotten, here’s a YouTube video reminder of how Davis played ball at UGA . . .
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
78 comments Add your comment
UGA Insider
August 2nd, 2011
4:22 pm
A great follow-up to the softness remark would have been “Do you attribute that to the loss of BVG?”
Tobias Funke
August 2nd, 2011
4:22 pm
HACE is the Place! Go Dawgs!
UGA’s ‘bus’ less crowded as Bulldogs report for preseason camp | UGA sports blog
August 2nd, 2011
4:26 pm
[...] Former UGA star Thomas Davis returns to graduate, shares observations [...]
merbertmoover
August 2nd, 2011
4:26 pm
thomas davis = tha truuuth
merbertmoover
August 2nd, 2011
4:28 pm
man, that’s cool our man thomas davis graduate! he was one of the best for real….and smart as a licorice whip, mmmhmmmm….i wish he sign with the falcons though, cuz i wanna do that dirty bird all nite, you know what im sayin?
BVG is Richts Daddy
August 2nd, 2011
4:29 pm
Haven’t done too much since the days of BVG.
buh bye Rickety Richt
Born2Bark
August 2nd, 2011
4:30 pm
Congrats on going back and finishing your degree TD! The fact you’re financially set for life and still went back to accomplish that goal shows the character you have. Another Damn Good Dawg!
Tobias Funke
August 2nd, 2011
4:30 pm
Soft Willie is the cause for the decline.
frannie mae
August 2nd, 2011
4:32 pm
“what happened to Georgia? You guys are soft,” That says it all…. UGA is in BIG BIG trouble.
Choke Sign Artist Todd
August 2nd, 2011
4:35 pm
“it’s tough to make a transition from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense. I do understand that.” The jury is still out on the D.
headley lamar
August 2nd, 2011
4:35 pm
Haven’t done too much since the days of BVG.
buh bye Rickety Richt
How did BVG defense hold up against Rodgers last year?
Defense has pretty much sucked and killed the Falcons since he has been there,
headley lamar
August 2nd, 2011
4:37 pm
UGA is in BIG BIG trouble.
Ill tell you who is in BIG BIG trouble. The opposition.
Everyone is kicking UGA during our little two year down cycle.
Do you really think UGA will stay down?
If you do your a fool.
girldawg
August 2nd, 2011
4:37 pm
Congratulations to Thomas Davis for coming back to school for his degree and diploma. He is one good dawg!!!
Frank Lane
August 2nd, 2011
4:39 pm
We have one big season to get it back together. I like the off-season behavior, conditioning and attitude. I am hopeful.
Tobias Funke
August 2nd, 2011
4:41 pm
You hate because you are scared. Win with Richt! Go Dawgs!
Chip
Can we get a report on Jenkins? or Ogletree? or Glenn?
JYD
August 2nd, 2011
4:43 pm
GATA
Cant stop this
August 2nd, 2011
4:44 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5yaKYuhEno
Big Dirty Dawg
August 2nd, 2011
4:45 pm
I second Lamar’s comment!! Can never keep a good dawg down for long!!!
Worm
August 2nd, 2011
4:48 pm
Congrats to Thomas..He is a great representative for UGA and is VERY active in the Charlotte community..As was John Kasey..
Music, Meet My Ears « Year of the Dawg
August 2nd, 2011
4:49 pm
[...] yes. I’m already in a good mood and it just got better: “Even going into your next week, you still had that hit on your mind that those guys did to [...]
ormewood
August 2nd, 2011
4:49 pm
Love stories like this. Big-time kudos to Thomas Davis for coming back and getting his degree.
Zoli
August 2nd, 2011
4:51 pm
Our D is going to lay some wood and be vastly improved! We have the personnel in place, condidtioning, size and speed, and a proven coach to LAY SOME WOOD on our opponents! Mark it down we will be atop of most D categories this year!
Billdawg
August 2nd, 2011
4:52 pm
Ditto on the congrats to Thomas. One tough dawg!
Vance Duly
August 2nd, 2011
4:52 pm
I agree with UGA Insider — digging into that “softness” issue with some “why” and “how” questions would have made for some interesting follow-up, to determine the reasons for this perception. Who would be better to comment about it than a player like Thomas Davis, who enjoyed crackin’ heads!!?
Palm City Dawg
August 2nd, 2011
4:53 pm
Now that’s the leadership we need in the locker room and on the field.
RabidDawgFan
August 2nd, 2011
5:02 pm
That’s the junkyard defense that I’m used to. Back in the Greg Blue, Thomas Davis, Odell Thurman, David Pollack, Quentin Moses, Gerald Anderson, Kendric Golston days. Those were the good ol defense days. Looking forward to seeing more of those in the very near future.
ugaclassof2004
August 2nd, 2011
5:23 pm
Davis’ teammates are right, UGA has gotten soft. Who deserves the blame? Mark Richt. He’s the head coach, its his team. He sat back and did nothing when Willie ran the defense into the ground. Willie should have been fired after 2008, but Richt kept him another year when it was clear to anyone with a brain that the defense had quit playing for him. And instead of firing ONE coach, he ended up having to fire THREE! Then he fired Van Halanger last year, the guy who implemented the whole ” Mat Drill” concept that was a part of the ” Georgia Way” back in the day. What’s going to happen next? Fire Rodney Garner if the “Dream Team” doesn’t pan out? At what point is the head guy held responsible?
LowCountry XPlant
August 2nd, 2011
5:24 pm
Yeah, that Dog would hunt…
Mitch Cumstein
August 2nd, 2011
5:31 pm
The Dawg “D” will be nasty this year. Grantham doesn’t put up with any monkey business of dancing like a Kansas City Fa**ot, (Right Heady?) when a play is made. That was one thing Davis, Blue & the other head hunters we had didn’t do was show-boat.
Mitch Cumstein
August 2nd, 2011
5:31 pm
Big Joe_ pot meet Kettle!
no dog
August 2nd, 2011
5:47 pm
on-line at U of Pheonix? Or UGa?
RabidDawgFan
August 2nd, 2011
5:56 pm
I hope CMR let’s Grantham coach the way he wants to coach and by that I mean get in the players’ faces and chew them out when he’s not pleased with their performance. In the first game last season I loved watching the fire come from Grantham after Rambo let that guy from Lafayette get behind him for their lone score. After that though, we never saw him that intense. That needs to change this season if our defense is to have that same mentality and attitude.
BirdDog
August 2nd, 2011
6:09 pm
That’s the truth Truth!
JE
August 2nd, 2011
6:26 pm
BVG killed the GA Southern program and turned up his nose at what Erk built. He will eventually destroy the Falcon defense which was not evident at all vs the Packers last year. You have to admit the guy had a ton of talent when he was at UGA. Willie never had those kind of players nor has Grantham had any yet. BVG showed up changed a defense and had the talent the first year. Willie and Grantam either had less talent or were changing the defense with lesser talent. If you have the horses you can ride….If not you usually fall of the horse. BVG does not have the horses with the Falcons in the NFL as other Defensive NFL Coaches have. He may know football but does not know how to get extra out of the average player.
Duluth Dawg
August 2nd, 2011
6:34 pm
We have NEVER had a hitter like Thomas Davis. I remember in the Georgia Southern game when he literally knocked a receiver out of his shoes. Davis hit Charlie Whitehurst so hard in the Clemson game that I thought he was dead. Davis is the best “lock and load” safety I have ever seen. The only safety that I have seen who comes close to Davis’ hitting ability is Eric Berry. Berry has far better cover skills and is a better all round safety as a result.
I yearn for the days of Thomas Davis at safety.
Poopdawg
August 2nd, 2011
6:46 pm
I agree Duluthdawg, congratulations Thomas.
JDawg1785
August 2nd, 2011
7:03 pm
Congrats on getting your degree, Thomas! DGD! One of the best safeties we’ve ever had at Georgia.
dawggirl
August 2nd, 2011
7:09 pm
Congratulations to Thomas Davis on this wonderful achievement, it says a lot that he was determined to see this goal be accomplished.
I loved the days of his defense with Greg Blue.
collegeballfan
August 2nd, 2011
7:22 pm
Wonderful story.
Congrats to Davis for his degree.
If his career is gone after this year he has something to fall back on.
tom
August 2nd, 2011
7:30 pm
Thomas Davis was one of the most dominating safeties I have ever seen play. He was a terror on special teams too. Congrats
St. Clarkston
August 2nd, 2011
7:59 pm
Just an offense wrecking machine. As for the degree, he didn’t need but went out and got. Darn good Dawg.
Brucerugby79
August 2nd, 2011
8:49 pm
congratulations Mr Davis
Tech Guy
August 2nd, 2011
9:24 pm
Congratulations, Mr. Davis. Wish more college athletes would follow your example.
william
August 2nd, 2011
9:33 pm
I miss watching Davis, Blue, and Pollack. The Defense has the players, but just not the heart. Hopefully we have changed that this year.
RedandBlackDAWG
August 2nd, 2011
9:46 pm
Big Joe,
Here is a free spell checker you can use. It works pretty good but has a few problems with windows 7, 64 bit. It would have made good sense to use it.
Thank You
http://www.humanized.com/enso/
BG
August 2nd, 2011
10:04 pm
Congrats Thomas!! GO DAWGS!!
Paul in RDU
August 2nd, 2011
10:43 pm
Congratulations to Thomas Davis on the committment to finish his degree and graduate. This is the right way to “finish the drill”.
Gdawg
August 2nd, 2011
10:43 pm
Thomas Davis and Greg Blue hit people so hard people had to get psychological counseling! Those guys were my favorite DB’s off all time. Now, UGA has some ILB and OLB prospects that could rival these guys if they pin their ears back and fly to the ball. 2011 is going to be fun if these guys BRING IT on every down. If not…it could be a long fall, again. I don’t think Richt will put up with it this year. Booboo is a relative of a big-time donor through marriage and that has been the achille’s heal. No More!!! GATA Dawgs!! I back Richt all the way. For all of you who think because he’s a Christian he is weak…that makes him stronger than you! He doesn’t have to be punk like Meyers or Saban and play dirty. Go DAWGS!!
Gdawg
August 2nd, 2011
11:08 pm
Fannie Mae, Wow! Stay away from big-boy sports like SEC football. UGA will take care of business this year. Every morning they wake up and run to Sanford stadium and back to the Athletic building. They will have plenty of gas left for the 4th quarter this year. Since you don’t put your school up for debate I can only guess you support a school in a lesser conference. Stand up and let us know who you support. Don’t be a punk! We all laugh at people like you. LOL!!!
Marv
August 2nd, 2011
11:57 pm
Thomas Davis played for Van Gorder, when the defense was tough and aggressive. Then came the WORST mistake of CMR’s career, Willie Martinez. Wait and react to what, the other team scoring another TD. Soft Willie still haunts this team and you wonder if they will ever recover.
dawg1948
August 3rd, 2011
1:13 am
Congratulations DAWG on your graduation. This is one Davis that wishes he could play ball like you. I think it is fantastic when a former player that has the talent to make it big in the NFL comes home and graduates. For those of us less athletically talented the degree and training for life is what it is all about and class people like TD set a great example for athletes and non athletes alike.
Steve
August 3rd, 2011
1:27 am
First, congratulations to Thomas Davis for completing his college degree! Second, I remember watching TD back when he was still in High School. Though I was from a different town, our high schools were both in Region 1AA. Watching him then, I knew he was a special player. He is perhaps one of three players I’ve watched while in high school that literally dominated the game, no matter where he was playing on the field. Incredible talent, and now, I believe he’s proving his character off the field as well. Again, congratulations, TD ~ what a DAWG!
videowatch
August 3rd, 2011
3:22 am
videowatch ops-nn
Destin Dawg
August 3rd, 2011
5:56 am
this will be Todd Grantham’s coming out season…. great coach… he knows next couple years will solidify his college coaching career.. he has the players… renewed S & C … favorable schedule… 2 biggest opp. ( Fla. and S.C. ) have shakey Q.B.s we’ll RUSH ‘em out of the 3/4 defense….. Junk Yard Dawgs are back !!!!!
AltamahaDawg
August 3rd, 2011
8:15 am
2004, I’m not sure how much more “held responsible” a person can be held beyond thier actualy job being at stake.There’s not a coach in American not held responsible for the results of thier football team. Did you want him boiled in oil? A room of his house burned after a each loss? What exactly are you asking?
RedandBlackDAWG
August 3rd, 2011
8:59 am
The below shows you the mentality of some people who are so scared of UGA that they resort to childish post such as this. If this is indeed an adult, at least in chronological age, I would suggest that he seek immediate therapy for his problem of low self esteem.
Crowell’s facebook page/Lowcounty bulldawg is a d—he
August 3rd, 2011
8:14 am
6 – 7 in ‘11
MARK IT DOWN FLEABAG NATION
Another canidate for D.A. of the week.
RxDawg
August 3rd, 2011
9:44 am
Without a doubt, Thomas Davis is the best safety I’ve personaly seen at UGA in my lifetime (yes, I know about Jake Scott but he was way before me). Also in my Dawg viewing years Davis, Pollock, and Champ Baily are my favorite UGA defenders. It’s great to see Thomas come back and finish up his degree.
RxDawg
August 3rd, 2011
9:46 am
Also… who the hell plays safety in college and moves to linebacker in the NFL!? Now that’s my kind of safety baby
GaTruth
August 3rd, 2011
9:52 am
Every defensive player for UGA should have to watch this video before every practice and every game. Thomas Davis is the epitome of a Junkyard Dawg!
True Dawg
August 3rd, 2011
10:03 am
What a GREAT video-Thats junkyard DAWG defense!!!! they should show that to the current UGA defense- He was BAD!!!
GeoffDawg
August 3rd, 2011
10:04 am
RxDawg – I think Brian Urlacher did that as well. Rare company indeed. Davis is a Damn Good Dawg and a damn fine player.
RxDawg
August 3rd, 2011
10:08 am
@ Geoff, did he really? Yeh I’d say that’s some good company.
Vince
August 3rd, 2011
10:21 am
Congratulations Thomas. Something to be proud of in the coming years. We’re glad you’re a Dawg. I wish we still had you in our defensive backfield—-you played the game like its supposed to be played!!
DoubleDog
August 3rd, 2011
10:22 am
Thomas Davis, a true class act, and a great team leader. God bless him in whatever he does.
Replacing A.J. Green a major challenge for 2011 Dogs | UGA: The Junkyard Blawg
August 3rd, 2011
10:48 am
[...] Most of the fan worrying I’ve heard recently has centered on the offense and I think that’s on the mark, so let’s put aside for now former hard-hitting Dawg Thomas Davis lamenting how “soft” last year’s defense was. [...]
BKDawg
August 3rd, 2011
10:52 am
Congratulations TD!
You guys played smart and tough, and I loved watching the Bulldog D on the field.
And thanks for giving the new guys that message! Seems like they needed reminding!
Proud to have you as an Alum! DGD!
Dawglasville
August 3rd, 2011
10:57 am
Great interview from T.D. Great player. Great hitter. I’m very happy for him that he finished his degree.
Nate the Great
August 3rd, 2011
11:53 am
Whoever posted the “cant stop this video”. Thanks. All UGA fans need to look at it and notice one overwhelming thing about that USCe game:
Our players were EXTREMELY hesistant on defense. No one attacked the ball. It looked like everyone was a little unsure of their assignments. If Spurrier was the same coach as he was at Florida, USCe would have beaten us by 40. The only reason we were even in the game in the second half is because Spurrier called such a bad game. If that team was half as good as everyone is thinking they would have hung 50pts on us. Easy.
Nate the Great
August 3rd, 2011
12:10 pm
Oh yeah and Thomas Davis and Greg Blue tie for my favorite players under Richt. Greene is a strong second. Followed by Pollack, Moreno and AJ Green in no particular order.
We have not had a safety to come and lay the lumber since BVG left. Soft willie saw to that.
Stafford helped usher in what I call the “Soft Hollywood” era under Richt. No leaders just a bunch of “look at me now” type “stars”. The attitude in this group was not about the team, just self promotion.
I cant argue with Stafford leaving early, he would have been stupid to stay 41.7 million reasons why, but I have a hard time thinking of a great QB that was in college for only 3 years. Can someone name one who has played since 1980? I can think of two players who cost themselves millions by not leaving after their Junior years, Matt Leinart and Jake Locker. I totally agree with Stafford’s decision to take his talents to the motor city, but it seems as though the “it” factor comes in the Senior year of college.
Carlton
August 3rd, 2011
12:14 pm
Damn good Dawg. I watched UGA games just to see who Thomas would blow up next..
Casual Observer
August 3rd, 2011
12:51 pm
First of all, DISCLAIMER I am a die-hard Gator Fan
Secondly, Congrats to TD for getting his degree, kudos to you. Attaboy.
Lastly; I will not as a Gator fan take a shot at the Dawgs. I will say the perception is that your Team, Staff and entire personna is Soft. I will leave it to you guys to figure out the how/why portion. I like GOOD hardnosed football regardless of the competitor. UGA has the resources, fanbase and the talent to be top notch. I personally don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t be in the top 5 discussion every single year. Except???????
RiffRaff
August 3rd, 2011
4:31 pm
Gotta love that picture of Davis putting the hit on Whitehurst.
DAWG07
August 3rd, 2011
5:22 pm
Thomas Davis demostrated that even though you come in lightly recrutied you can achieve the highest success.
SEC1
August 3rd, 2011
7:40 pm
Man, do I miss those days….Gotta LOVE watching those clips. I was at the LSU game – we simply ran them out of the stadium that day!
Let’s hope Gratham puts the “D” back in DAWGS!
RedandBlackDAWG
August 3rd, 2011
9:02 pm
SEC 1,
I hope he does also, and I kind of believe between the S and C coach and the DC, we might see a return to those days. They may be young and lack experience, but I expect to see them put the wood on a few people this year. That will be the way to earn respect. I can’t wait to see the NT’s put the hurt on a runner, who thought he could go up the middle.
macrotech
August 3rd, 2011
11:02 pm
Great read…congrats on the degree!!! Glad to hear that the knee is back in working condition…from a Tech fan…you’re the man!!!
HardTruth Soldier
August 3rd, 2011
11:21 pm
Thomas Davis, Scott Woerner, Greg Blue, and Jeff Sanchez. Damn can anybody step up and be next?
Mark R.
August 9th, 2011
4:12 pm
Glad to see Thomas still has bulldog blood running through his veins and cares about the Bulldog team. Most of all I am proud of Thomas for getting his degree, something so many college football players fail to do, way to go “Thomas”.