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OCEANSIDE, Calif. - Nate Davis continues to sling the football around arenas in the Indoor Football League. The 6-2, 225-pounder has led San Diego to the top seed in the Western Conference with a 13-3 record as the IFL playoffs begin this weekend.
The No. 1 Strike Force hosts No. 4 Tucson Sugar Skulls (7-9) on Sunday in a semifinal round game inside Frontwave Arena at 9 p.m. San Diego has beaten Tucson all three times they've met this season, including 40-36 last weekend in a game that Davis sat out.
In 15 games this summer, Davis has completed 243 of 396 passes (61.4 percent) for 2,752 yards, an eye-popping 55 touchdowns and a dozen interceptions. He has thrown at least two TD passes in each game and has thrown five on five different occasions, with a season-high nine against Quad City. Davis has also run for three scores and even caught a TD pass.
His top targets include Jalen Sample (60-607-13TDs); Dallas Daniels (50-670-19) and Shane Hooks (47-595-15).
At 39 years old, Davis has played indoors since 2012 when he won consecutive Lone Star Bowl Championships. He was named the Lone Star Football League's Co-Offensive MVP in 2013.
He joined the Duke City Gladiators in 2020 as the franchise embarked on their first season as a member of the Indoor Football League. He went on to earn 2021 Offensive Player of the Year and First Team All-IFL honors while throwing an Indoor Football League single-season record 79 touchdowns.
The former Bellaire High and Ball State University quarterback will enter his third season on the Strike Force roster after being acquired by the team in Week 6 of the 2023 IFL season from Duke City.
In his first full season with San Diego head coach Taylor Genuser in 2024, the Strike Force posted 46.2 points per game (6th in IFL, leader posted 52.8), 3,308 passing yards (2nd in IFL by only 28 yards), 77 passing touchdowns (1st in IFL), and allowed the fewest sacks in the IFL (6) in route to a franchise-best 11-win season. They went on to advance to the Western Conference Championship where they would fall to the eventual IFL champion Arizona Rattlers.
After being drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in 2009, where he spent two seasons, he went on to spend time with the Seattle Seahawks and Indianapolis Colts.
During his collegiate career at Ball State (Ohio), Davis started all three seasons before forgoing his senior season for the 2009 NFL draft. In those three seasons, he threw for 9,233 passing yards and 74 touchdowns (he also added 10 rushing and one receiving touchdown).
With a win over Tucson, San Diego would face either the No. 2 Vegas Knight Hawks (12-4) or No. 3 Arizona Rattlers (11-5) in the Western Conference finals on Sunday, Aug. 9. The Green Bay Blizzard (13-3) are the top seed in the Eastern Conference. The IFL National Championship will be played in Tucson on Sunday, Aug. 16. All games will be televised on the Yahoo Sports Network.