Davis was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and attended Douglass High School, where he rushed for 7,339 yards and 80 touchdowns in his career.

He participated in the Georgia North/South game and earned co-MVP honors as he scored the only touchdown to lead the North to victory.

Davis was subsequently named ACC Rookie of the Year, the first Tiger to win the award since Anthony Simmons in 1995.

His 17 touchdowns tied a Clemson single-season record also held by Lester Brown in 1978, and was fifth-most in ACC history.

Davis was one of ten semifinalists for the Doak Walker Award in 2006, and also earned First-team All-ACC honors.

Clemson's leading rusher for the third-straight year (the first Tiger to do so since Raymond Priester from 1995–97), Davis ran for 1,064 yards and 10 touchdowns on 214 attempts as a junior.

Davis became the first Tiger running back to be named First-team All-ACC in consecutive years since Terry Allen (1987, 1988).

As a senior, Davis suffered separated shoulder in spring 2008 practices, and had arthroscopic surgery to repair.

Davis applied for the 2008 NFL draft in January 2008, but withdrew his name a few days before the final deadline.