Former Auburn All-SEC linebacker Deshaun Davis is getting his first on-field coaching opportunity at the college level.
Davis was hired at North Alabama, the program announced Wednesday, making him the first addition to new UNA coach Brent Dearmon’s staff. Davis will coach linebackers for the Lions.
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“This is big for me,” Davis said. “I’m thankful for the opportunity and extremely excited to have the chance to really control my own room and bring my passion and personality to these young student-athletes. I am also coming back to my home state and coaching there will feel like home. My relationship with Coach Dearmon also goes back to when I was in high school and I know his passion for coaching. I’m excited about all the great things we are going to do at North Alabama on and off the field.”
Davis’ move to UNA comes after he spent the last year as a defensive graduate assistant at UCF under former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn. Like Davis, Dearmon got his foot in the door at the college level under Malzahn, working as an offensive analyst at Auburn during the 2013-14 seasons.
That’s not the only thing Davis and Dearmon share in common. Both are Mobile natives and both graduated from Vigor High. Dearmon also coached at Vigor as offensive coordinator from 2008-10. Davis’ senior season at Vigor was in 2013.
“DeShaun Davis was my favorite player that I ever coached in school,” Dearmon said. “Then when I got the opportunity to move on to Auburn, I stood on the table for him to be an Auburn Tiger. He was an All-SEC linebacker, but he is also an All-American person. I am pleased to be able to coach alongside such a great player and human being. DeShaun has a very bright future in this business.”
A former three-star prospect out of high school, Davis signed with Auburn in 2014 and went on to earn first-team All-SEC honors as a senior in 2018. He finished his Auburn career with 266 total tackles, including 261 over his final three seasons when he started at linebacker. He was the first Auburn linebacker since 2004 to earn first-team All-SEC recognition, accomplishing that after leading the Tigers with 116 tackles and 15 for a loss as a senior.
Following his Auburn career, Davis played briefly for three NFL teams in 2019 -- the Philadelphia Eagles, Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars -- and had a stint in the CFL with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Davis spent the 2021 season coaching freshmen at Thompson High School while recovering from surgery and then spent a few months as defensive coordinator at Vigor before joining the support staff at UCF.
Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.