7/22/2023 football Edit

Forced to give up football, TJ Davis perseveres and earns degree from FSU

TJ Davis took a medical disqualification in May 2022 but continued his studies and earned his degree in July. (Photo courtesy TJ Davis)

Bob Ferrante • TheOsceola

Editor

TJ Davis’ disappointment was understandable. The defensive lineman was one of the first high school prospects identified by assistant coach John Papuchis, just shortly after he joined Mike Norvell’s staff.

Davis signed with Florida State in February 2020 and was excited to start his college career, joining a program he felt was the right fit for him and was on the rise. But Davis suffered an injury in preseason camp.

“I dislocated my knee the first time. I was doing a board drill and my first ever rep I was going against Rob Scott, and I had bad pad level and I snapped my knee,” Davis recalled. “I popped it out and it went back in place. I did rehab and I came back in October. I did the same thing again. It popped out again. I finally had surgery and had rehab.”

Davis returned in 2021 and made an impression on coaches. He was the defensive scout team player of the year and made his debut against UMass on Oct. 23, recording a tackle.

But the following year, Davis got sick and went to the doctor. The diagnosis was unexpected: Davis had an enlarged heart. The risk of continuing to play football was too significant.

“It was real tough,” Davis said. “All of 2022 it was tough. One day you're in the locker room and the next day you’re watching the football games on TV or from the bleachers.”

Davis was disappointed he could no longer play football, but he took the medical disqualification in May 2022 and was able to remain on scholarship. By NCAA rule, any football player who is medically disqualified can have his tuition, books and housing covered by a school and not be counted against the 85-scholarship limit.

In July, Davis proudly posted on social media that he had graduated. He finished up his last two classes and earned a degree in Social Science.

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“I’m grateful for the work TJ invested to continue pursuing his education after his injury situation,” Norvell said. “It’s unfortunate he was unable to continue playing, but he has modeled our program’s values by responding to adversity and still pushing to complete his degree. I’m proud of him for the example he will be to his family and his community, and we are all excited for TJ’s future.”

Davis’ family encouraged him to stay in Tallahassee and complete his coursework. He said he is the first person in his family to earn a college degree.

“It was really the reason why you use football — to get a free education,” Davis said. “Everybody wants to go to the NFL. But after the NFL you got to have something to fall back to. I know my family is happy.”

He also found support from his three roommates in Thomas Shrader, Ben Ostaszewski and Zane Herring. Davis also shared his appreciation for FSU’s academics staff, notably senior academic advisor Sydney Martin, for keeping him on track.

“She was my mentor and my therapy, kept me motivated and checked up on me,” Davis said.

Davis said he plans to stay in Tallahassee for the fall and hopes to pursue a career in either real estate or coaching.

“I've got a lot of things I want to do,” Davis said. “But mainly coaching just because I miss football. I also talked about doing real estate, sales or things like that. I have a lot I want to do. I just have to figure out which ones I really want to do.”