Najeh Davenport
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| Pittsburgh Steelers — No. 44 | |
| Running back | |
| Date of birth: February 8, 1979 | |
| Place of birth: Raleigh, North Carolina | |
| Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | Weight: 247 lb (112 kg) |
| National Football League debut | |
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| 2002 for the Green Bay Packers | |
| Career history | |
| College: University of Miami | |
| NFL Draft: 2002 / Round: 4 / Pick: 135 | |
Teams:
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Selected NFL statistics (through Week 17 of the 2007 NFL season) |
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| Rushing yards | 1,788 |
| Rushing average | 4.7 |
| Rushing TDs | 13 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
Najeh Trenadious Monté Davenport (born February 8, 1979 in Raleigh, North Carolina) is an American football running back who plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Davenport was cut by the Green Bay Packers on September 2, 2006, following a four-year affiliation with the Packers. Eight days later, he was picked by the Steelers, following the 2006 season opener.
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[edit] University of Miami
Davenport attended the University of Miami, where he played primarily as a fullback. He won a NCAA Division I-A national football championship as a member of the Hurricanes in 2001. He was chosen by the Packers in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL Draft with the 135th overall pick.
Prior to entering the NFL, Davenport achieved a small measure of infamy after he allegedly defecated in the laundry basket of a Barry University woman in her dorm room on April 1, 2002. In a plea bargain, his felony charge of second-degree burglary and misdemeanor count of criminal mischief were dropped in exchange for his completing 100 hours of community service.[1]
[edit] Green Bay Packers
[edit] 2002
Since entering the NFL, Davenport has struggled with fumbles when playing and with injuries that have kept him off the playing field. Davenport's abilities exceed a fourth round selection, but to the accord of many scout's predictions, Davenport has been plagued by injuries throughout his career. In his rookie campaign, Davenport rushed for a respectable 4.7 yards per carry average before fracturing his left eye socket.
[edit] 2003 and 2004 seasons
In 2003, injuries were minimal and he rushed for 5.45 yards per carry, good for the second highest in the NFL, and 30.1 yards per kick return. However, in 2004, Davenport started the season with a lingering hamstring injury that kept him out of for a month. On November 29, 2004, Davenport, in his first NFL start, rushed for 178 yards, third highest debut start yardage in the NFL for the past 20 years. Later that year, Davenport broke his ribs, resulting in playing at far less than 100 percent.
[edit] 2005 season
In 2005, after Green went down with a quadriceps injury, Davenport took over as starter. In what would be his only start of the season, versus the New Orleans Saints, Davenport scored two first-half touchdowns before breaking his ankle. He was subsequently placed on injured reserve, effectively ending his season.
[edit] Pittsburgh Steelers
[edit] 2006 season
Davenport was released by the Packers on September 2, 2006, when NFL rosters were reduced to 53 players. Six days later, on September 8, 2006, however, Davenport was signed to the roster of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He finished the season with a total of 221 rushing yards.
Davenport quickly earned the nicknames "Dookie"[2] and "The Dump Truck,"[3] both plays on the Barry University incident.
[edit] 2007 season
After the Steelers signed veteran running back Kevan Barlow, Davenport was facing competition with Barlow for the second and third string positions. However, Barlow was cut during training camp, and Davenport assumed the second string responsibilites for Pittsburgh's opener against Cleveland. Davenport rushed for 43 yards on 8 carries in the Steelers's 34-7 win.
Arguably his best game with the Steelers came on Thursday, December 20, 2007, against the St. Louis Rams. Davenport had 24 carries for 123 yards and a touchdown, as well as two catches for 44 yards and another touchdown. Davenport replaced Willie Parker who broke his fibula in the first quarter.
On October 12, 2007, Davenport was charged in Cleveland with domestic violence, child endangering, and unlawful restraint in an incident involving the mother of his five-year-old son. He entered a plea of not guilty days later and the case went to trial on April 4, 2008.[4] After a four-day trial, an eight-member jury spent three and a half hours deliberating before finding Davenport not guilty of all counts.[5]
[edit] Notes
- ^ “Davenport agrees to community service”, The Associated Press, October 29, 2002, <http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/news/2002/10/29/packers_davenport_ap>
- ^ Najeh Davenport. Topix.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
- ^ Gallo, DJ. "Time to put fantasy into trades", ESPN.com, October 16, 2006. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
- ^ Caniglia, John. "Steelers running back on trial in Cleveland", The Plain Dealer, April 4, 2008.
- ^ Finder, Chuck. "Steelers' Davenport is not guilty on 3 charges", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 10, 2008.
[edit] External links
- Najeh Davenport statistics at Profootballreference.com.
- Najeh Davenport statistics at Databasefootball.com.
- Najeh Davenport's Miami Hurricanes 2001 National Champions Football Pennant
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