One of ISU's best: 1980s All-American succumbs to Lou Gehrig’s Disease

By David Hughes
The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — A heavily recruited two-way standout from Mount Healthy High School in Cincinnati, Wayne Davis initially wanted to play running back for Indiana State’s football team in the early 1980s.

But longtime ISU coach Dennis Raetz and his assistants persuaded Davis into playing cornerback for the good of the team.

The result was enough stellar performances to earn Davis the 1984 Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year award as a senior, a second-round selection (39th overall) by the San Diego Chargers in the 1985 NFL draft and a six-year NFL career that included stints with the Chargers, Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins.

One of ISU’s best football players ever, Davis died Sunday after a lengthy battle with Lou Gehrig’s Disease near Atlanta. He was 44.

The 5-foot-11, 175-pound Davis received three NCAA All-America honors in 1984. In the NFL, he totaled five interceptions in 73 games (14 starts), according to the www.pro-football-reference.com Web site. In 2002, he was inducted into the ISU Athletics Hall of Fame.

“Wayne was arguably the only shutdown corner Indiana State ever had,” Raetz recalled Wednesday. “He could really cover wide receivers one on one. He had very soft feet and great speed. He was a highly intelligent kid too.”

In the early 1980s, Indiana State had three athletes who won MVC Defensive Player of the Year — linebacker Craig Shaffer in 1981, Davis in 1984 and safety Vencie Glenn in 1985. But Davis, a three-year starter for the Sycamores, ended up being the highest-drafted ISU player by an NFL team.

“Wayne was a great guy,” said Tribune-Star sports correspondent Tom James, who worked with the football team for ISU’s sports information department in the early ’80s. “He was very musically talented. Wayne was a rapper before anybody knew what rapping was. He was very good at it.”

“Wayne was a leader on the field, but he was a leader by example,” Raetz added. “Wayne was not loud at all, but everyone who saw him play knew he could play.”

A glance through the pages of ISU’s 2007 football media guide does not show Davis among the statistical leaders in many categories, but Raetz said there’s a good reason for that.

“Most people didn’t throw at him,” the veteran coach said.

During Davis’ junior and senior seasons, the Sycamores finished 9-4 and 9-3 respectively.

Funeral services for Davis will take place Friday at the New Mercies Christian Church in Lilburn, Ga. A public viewing is scheduled from 10 to 11 a.m., with services beginning immediately afterward.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of Wayne Davis to the ALS Association of Georgia, 1955 Cliff Valley Way, Suite 116, Atlanta, GA 30329.