“His Whole Career, It Has Always Felt Like He Was Underappreciated”
April 9th, 2026
Cool Lavonte David story.
Former NFL players with large platforms — significantly larger than the veteran journalists who serve as selectors for the Pro Football Hall of Fame — have had Lavonte David’s back.
And since David retired last month, they have been very vocal that if David is ignored for the Hall of Fame, there is a significant problem with the institution and the snub of David may inspire change.
To Joe, it’s almost like these former players are taking a diss of David as an attack on the game they love and to which they devoted a chunk of their lives. An insult.
Good guy Kevin Clark of ESPN, a Floridian by birth who graduated from Miami, had a cool story about David he shared with Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht at the owners meetings in Arizona recently.
Clark asked Licht who the most underrated player is that he has ever been associated with in his 36 years in the NFL. Licht didn’t even hesitate a second.
“Lavonte David,” Licht said.
Licht then began to explain why and quoted new Bucs linebacker Alex Anzalone, who said David is not underrated but underappreciated.
Then Clark offered up his David story.
David went to Miami Northwestern, where he played on one of the greatest high school teams in Florida history, maybe all of high school football. Clark told Licht from that Miami Northwestern team, Miami recruited seven players. David was not among them. O
f that group, only Sean Spence did anything in the NFL. The guy Miami passed on, David, may end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“His whole career, it has always felt like he was underappreciated,” Clark said of David.
Joe can only respond properly with one word.
Amen.
April 9th, 2026 at 7:20 am
He’s been underrated ever since he came out. Doesn’t get the credit as some of others do.
April 9th, 2026 at 7:27 am
Miami Northwestern had a good football team
But Lakeland Dreadnaughts was a dominant team also
We beat Ft Lauderdale St Thomas Aquinas 3 years straight
To win the class 5A in Florida, and we were National Champion
We were National champions before Miami Northwestern
And Urban Meyer came to Lakeland, and recruited 6 Dreadnaughts
And he won 2 Championships at Florida with those players
4 of them were drafted into the NFL
But, St Thomas Aquinas beat us in 2024-2025 in the 5A state finals
April 9th, 2026 at 7:35 am
Should get into the hall of fame. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t. Maybe they should consider bringing him in as part of the coaching staff on D or maybe the front office.
April 9th, 2026 at 7:51 am
I thought Wilbert Marshall would be in the HOF by now
The entire voting process is stupid, it don’t make sense
April 9th, 2026 at 8:52 am
Lavonte is 4th all time with solo tackles and 4th all time with Tackles for Loss. (only 1 other LB in history – HOFer Urlacher at #17 – is in the top 25 for TFLs)
#54 had 68 turnovers (14 INT, 33 FF, 21 FR) in 215 games – which is just shy of 1 turnover for every 3 games played over his career.
Plainly and simply – Lavonte David was one of the greatest and most consistent playmakers in NFL history.
The lack of post season honors is appalling…. But Lavonte has something that many players who received far more ‘recognition’ and ‘honors’ don’t…..
A Super Bowl ring!!!
If LD54 is not quickly voted into the Hall of Fame once eligible – it will highlight how broken and biased the process for gaining that ultimate NFL honor is….
April 9th, 2026 at 8:59 am
LVD=HOF!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
April 9th, 2026 at 9:03 am
Because he played for losing teams most of his career, and got little to no National attention. We all know his story here in Tampa, but ask somebody in Seattle or LA they don’t even know who he is. But the players he played with and against sure know.
April 9th, 2026 at 9:38 am
Should be first ballot. That over-appreciated guy in Carolina couldn’t carry LVD’s water bottle. It simply boggles my mind why people think googly was worth a damn while ignoring LVD.
April 9th, 2026 at 9:45 am
It’s going to take a ton of pressure put on the HOF voters to get them to consider LaVonte. Maybe shaming them would be a better approach.
April 9th, 2026 at 9:52 am
“That over-appreciated guy in Carolina couldn’t carry LVD’s water bottle. It simply boggles my mind why people think googly was worth a damn while ignoring LVD.”
Joe covered a little of Davids’ “Bussin w/the Boys” interview, but Will Compton called Luke Kuechly and asked who should’ve won DPOY in 2013 and Luke basically started worshiping Lavonte over the phone. Made my heart flutter, cause these guys are peers and Luke clearly knows what’s up. Bobby Wagner was still trying to find himself in that Seattle D around that time.