Davone Bess life and biography

Growing up in Oakland, Calif., Davone faced adversity at all levels. Through hard work and perseverance, Bess went on to become the first person in his family to attend college when he starred at the University of Hawaii. He was also the first family member on his father’s side to attend high school when he starred at Skyline High as a three sport star.

CAREER TRANSACTIONS
Signed with Miami as an undrafted college free agent on May 1, 2008.

PRO
2010 - For the season ranks second on the team in receptions and reception yardage with 26 catches for 282 yards and two touchdowns ... Has led the team in receptions once and in reception yardage once ... Started once and played in a reserve role four times this season

THIRD DOWN: In Bess’ three seasons, he has touched the ball 161 times, including 156 receptions and five rushes ... Of that total, 95 have been converted into first downs (93 receptions, two rushing) ... On third down, Bess has handled the ball 65 times (all receptions) and has accounted for a first down on 51 occasions (all receptions) ... On fourth down he has handled the ball twice (all receptions) and has accounted for a first down twice (all receptions).

GAME HIGHLIGHTS - AT GREEN BAY (OCT. 17): On Oct. 17th at Green Bay had five catches for 37 yards and one touchdown, coming on a two-yard TD pass from Chad Henne.

2009 - Played in all 16 games with two starts ... Finished first on the Dolphins in both receptions and receiving yards with 76 catches for 758 yards and two touchdowns ... Had two rushes for 11 yards ... Added 28 punt returns for 209 yards, an average of 7.5 yards per return ... Tied for 11th in the AFC in receptions ... Led the Dolphins in receptions eight times and in reception yardage six times during the season ... Topped the Dolphins in both receptions and reception yardage with seven catches for 57 yards at Atlanta (9/13) ... Posted team highs with seven catches for 54 yards at San Diego (9/27) ... Had team-leading six catches for 56 yards at New England (11/8) ... Led the Dolphins with four catches for 72 yards vs. Tampa Bay (11/15) ... Two of those catches, for a total of 41 yards, came in the Dolphins’ final drive of the game to set up a game-winning field goal with 14 seconds left in the contest ... Had team-high six catches for 63 yards at Carolina (11/19) ... Had career highs with ten catches for 117 yards and added a touchdown, coming on a 13-yard TD pass from Chad Henne vs. New England (12/6) ... It was his first career game of ten or more catches and the first time he registered 100 or more yards in receptions ... Registered five catches for 85 yards and one touchdown, coming on a 34-yard TD pass from Tyler Thigpen vs. Pittsburgh (1/3/10).

RECEPTION TOTAL: Bess’ 76 catches in 2009 ranks tied for the fourth highest single- season reception total in Dolphins history.

2008 - Played in all 16 regular season games with six starts as a rookie ... Finished third on the Dolphins in receptions and receiving yardage with 54 catches for 554 yards and one touchdown ... Also had 14 kickoff returns for 311 yards, an average of 22.2 yards per return and 21 punt returns for 231 yards, an average of 11.0 yards per return ... Led the team in receptions five times and in reception yardage three times ... Made his NFL and Dolphins debut vs. N.Y. Jets (9/7) and ended the day with one catch for eight yards ... Posted season-high 113 yards on four kickoff returns at Houston (10/12) ... Had two catches for 12 yards and first career touchdown reception, coming on a seven-yard toss from Chad Pennington, vs. Baltimore (10/19) ... Recorded three catches for 50 yards, including a 27-yard reception on the final Dolphins drive of the game which led to a 38-yard Dan Carpenter game winning kick, vs. Oakland (11/16) ... Made first career start and recorded a single-game high of 87 receiving yards on five catches vs. New England (11/23) ... Led the team in both receptions and reception yardage with six catches for 84 yards at St. Louis (11/30) ... Led the team in receptions and reception yardage with season-high nine catches for 74 yards against Buffalo in Toronto (12/7) ... His nine catches tied for the second-highest single game total by a Dolphins rookie and the most by a rookie wide receiver ... Led the team in receptions with three catches for 25 yards vs. San Francisco (12/14) ... Tied for the team lead in receptions and led the Dolphins in reception yardage with six catches for 57 yards at Kansas City (12/21) in what would be recorded as the coldest game in Dolphins history ... Led the Dolphins in receptions with six catches for 39 yards as Miami clinched the AFC East Division title at N.Y. Jets (12/28) ... Caught two passes for 54 yards, including a 45-yard fourth quarter reception in AFC Wild Card playoff game against Baltimore (1/4/09).

AMONG 2008 NFL ROOKIE RECEIVERS: Bess ranked among the league leaders in both receptions and receiving yards by NFL rookie wide receivers in 2008.

COLLEGE
Played three years at Hawaii (2005-07) and started all 39 games in which he played during that time ... Totaled 293 receptions for 3,610 yards and 41 touchdowns ... Also returned 23 punts for an 11.2-yard average in his career ... Reception total is a school and Western Athletic Conference record ... Also owns the Hawaii and conference record for career games with a touchdown reception (29), while his 41 receiving scores is a school standard ... Is the only player in school history to post three 1,000-yard receiving seasons ... Totaled 19 100-yard receiving games in his career ... Was a first-team All-WAC selection all three years ... As a junior in 2007, caught 108 passes for 1,266 yards and 12 TDs when he was a third-team All-America selection by the Associated Press ... Ranked fifth in Football Bowl Subdivsion in receptions and seventh in receiving yards ... Set a Hawaii single-game record for receptions with 15 against Boise State, when he also amassed a career-high 181 receiving yards ... Hauled in 96 passes for 1,220 yards and 15 scores as a sophomore ... Registered 89 receptions for 1,124 yards and 14 TDs in 2005 when he was the WAC Freshman of the Year ... Equaled an NCAA freshman mark with his 14 touchdown receptions ... Left school with one year of eligibility still remaining ... Majored in communications.

PERSONAL

Attended Skyline High School in Oakland, Calif., where he lettered in football, basketball and baseball ... In football, played both wide receiver and quarterback, and was a second-team all-city selection as a quarterback his senior season ... Favorite recording artist is Lil Wayne ... Enjoys reading, and playing ping pong and pool in spare time ... Participated in the Miami Dolphins Foundation Golf Tournament and the Foundation’s Kids Fishing Clinic ... Purchased and gave away Thanksgiving meals and Holiday toys ... Visited children at Kids In Distress and attended the Make-A-Wish Sports Banquet ... Took part in the inaugural Miami Dolphins Touchdown For Life Blood Drive ... Signed autographs to support the Broward Sheriff Office’s fundraiser for burn victim Mike Brewer ... Full name is Davone Atrayo Bess, born September 13, 1985 in Hayward, Calif.

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