Introduction
Davis Sanchez (born August 7, 1974) is a former gridiron football player who played cornerback in both the Canadian Football League and National Football League.
Early years
Sanchez attended North Delta Secondary where he played basketball, but not football. He was good enough at basketball that he played one year at Butte Junior College. He started playing football in his second year of college, first for the Surrey Junior Rams and then returning to Butte, where he earned junior college All-American status. He then played college football at the University of Oregon, but his career there was limited to six games, in part because of a broken leg.
Professional career
Sanchez was selected 6th overall in the 1999 CFL College Draft by the Montreal Alouettes. He had nine interceptions in 2000, topping the CFL. That year, he won the Lew Hayman Trophy as the best Canadian in the East Division. In 2001, he signed with the San Diego Chargers, with whom he played two seasons. He returned to the CFL in 2003 with the Calgary Stampeders. In 2004, he was traded to Montreal. In 2005, he signed with the Edmonton Eskimos. On February 18, 2006, he was traded again to Montreal for Reggie Durden and Rob Brown. This was Sanchez's third spell with the Alouettes, who he played with for four seasons.
In his career, Sanchez has played on two Grey Cup-winning teams. The first was the 2005 Edmonton Eskimos, though he was injured and did not play in the Grey Cup. He was able to take part in the Montreal Alouettes' 2009 Grey Cup victory, saying afterward, "I'm so excited, there's no words." Sanchez has been named to the East Division All-Star team on three occasions.
On February 9, 2010, Sanchez signed with his hometown team, the BC Lions, after requesting his release from the Montreal Alouettes. After two seasons with the Lions, he announced his retirement on May 14, 2012.