FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Burlsworth Trophy selection committee announced Tuesday morning that Tennessee redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Dayne Davis is one of 88 players nominated for the 2021 Burlsworth Trophy.
The Burlsworth Trophy is named in honor of former Arkansas walk-on and All-American offensive lineman Brandon Burlsworth. The award is given annually to the most outstanding football player in America who began his career as a walk-on and has shown outstanding performance on the field.
Currently in his third year with the program, Davis enrolled at Tennessee in 2019 as a preferred walk-on before earning a scholarship in December 2020. The 6-7, 325-pound tackle has played in all eight games this season, seeing action on 223 offensive snaps and allowing just four pressures.
The Bluff City, Tennessee, native came off the bench and played a season-high 80 snaps against No. 13 Ole Miss on Oct. 16, helping the Vols produce 467 total yards. The next week at Alabama, Davis made his first career start, playing 57 snaps without allowing a pressure or a sack.
Davis starred at Sullivan East High School in northeast Tennessee, playing both sides of the ball (offensive and defensive tackle) while also handling long snapping duties for the Patriots. He racked up 65 tackles and paved the way up front offensively his senior year, earning First Team All-Northeast Conference Honors. After his successful campaign garnered interest from numerous Division I FCS programs, Davis elected to walk on at Tennessee in February 2019.
The 88 Burlsworth Trophy nominees will be narrowed to a list of 10 semifinalists next week before three finalists are announced in two weeks. The award ceremony to honor the three finalists and announce the 2021 winner will be held on Dec. 6th at 7 p.m. CT at Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas.
For more information on the Burlsworth Trophy, visit burlsworthtrophy.com.
-UT Athletics
