Statistically the greatest quarterback in Morehouse College history, Jimmie Davis Jr. holds school records for career passing yards (5,662), single-game touchdown passes (5), single-season touchdown passes (16) and career touchdown passes (47). Equally talented in the classroom, he holds bachelor's degrees in math and physics from Morehouse and in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech. Davis also earned master's degrees in applied mathematics from Georgia Tech and in electrical engineering from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. After earning his doctorate in electrical engineering, he joined the Bedford, Mass., campus of The MITRE Corporation, a non-profit corporation that runs six federally funded research and development centers and provides long-term systems engineering and IT support to its government sponsors. Davis currently serves as a project lead and a principal engineer. In 2007, he was named Black Engineer of the Year for Community Service and he was named 2025 Black Engineer of the Year for Career Achievement. Davis has served on the board of Space Florida, Florida's aerospace economic development organization, the Challenger Learning Center Tallahassee, and led STEM Florida, Florida's STEM workforce development organization.
Davis was inducted as a NFF National Scholar Athlete in 1989. Davis was only the third HBCU recipient, and the only second HBCU Division II representative, of the award established in 1959.
About the NFF Scholar-Athlete Award
The NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards Presented by Fidelity Investments were established in 1959 as the first initiative in history to honor scholar-athletes with postgraduate scholarships for their combined athletic, academic and leadership abilities. Early NFF leader and College Football Hall of Fame coach Col. Earl "Red" Blaik provided the funds for the first scholarships. Reqirements include:
* Be a senior player, who will complete his final year of eligibility during the current season OR a graduated player or grad transfer, who has already earned a bachelor's degree and will participate in the current season;
* Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale;
* Have outstanding football ability as a starter/significant contributor; and
* Have exemplary leadership on the field, in the classroom and within the community.
Past recipients have used their postgraduate scholarships to set the standard for excellence in our society, earning more than 155 medical degrees, 105 law degrees, 80 MBAs and 45 PhDs. Others have used the financial backing to enhance their successful careers in finance, consulting and engineering. Continuing their excellence on the field, more than 250 recipients have played in the NFL with an average career of six seasons or double the length of a typical NFL player.
About the NFF
Founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, the National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people.
Courtesy: National Football Foundation
