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NFL 2012: a banner year for rookie quarterbacks

Encouraged by the success of Carolina’s Cam Newton and Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton last season, five teams hand the offensive controls to five players fresh out of the college ranks.

13. Dominique Davis, Atlanta Falcons

Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Dominique Davis looks for a receiver during the first half of an NFL preseason football game, Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012, in Jacksonville, Fla.

  • By Ross Atkin Staff

Undrafted free agent

Pro status: 3rd string

College: East Carolina

6 ft. 2 in., 198 lbs.

Hometown: Lakeland, Fla.

QB rating in the preseason: 76.6

Davis was ranked as the 27th player in the draft by ESPN’s Mel Kiper and had to pay just to participate in a regional NFL scouting combine. So he looked like a long shot to latch on with any team. Perhaps it helped that he once played behind Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan when both were at Boston College. Although Davis was suspended for academic reasons, Ryan remembered him as a soft-spoken, hard-working, intelligent young player who is capable of learning the Falcons offense. Besides his college connection with Ryan, Davis also enjoys a tie to another NFL signal caller, Cam Newton. Before Davis finally wound up at East Carolina, he led Fort Scott (Kan.) Community College against Newton’s Blinn (Texas) College in the national junior college championship game. Blinn managed to pull out a last-minute victory with a punt-return TD.

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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