So consumed is the Mary Hardin-Baylor junior receiver with being an integral part of the fourth-ranked Crusaders’ success that even during conversation, the words playmaker and big play come up half a dozen times.
“The receivers always break out of our huddle in practice by saying ‘playmakers,’” Davis said. “We like to see ourselves as being playmakers. Each one of us puts in the work every day in practice so that on Saturdays we can show that we can make plays at any given time.”
He doesn’t throw the terms around in a boastful manner, and it isn’t bragging if a player can back up his words.
Davis has no problem doing that.
After spending 2006 on the junior varsity team and making just three catches last season, the speedster out of Jefferson has already posted the fourth-highest total of single-season receiving yards in school history heading into Saturday’s NCAA Division III semifinal against No. 5 Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Davis has team-high receiving totals of 22 catches for 646 yards - an average of 29.4 yards per grab - and eight touchdowns. He credits his breakout season to the toiling hours put during the spring and summer.
“Me being able to step up has come from two years of offseason,” he said. “The offseason program here is the real deal. I have confidence this year that I haven’t had before because of the work I put in during the offseason.
“When I was a freshman and sophomore, there were other guys in front of me so I wasn’t depended on to make big plays. Now that the spotlight’s on (this group of wideouts), we’re trying to deliver on our role as big-play receivers.”
After starting his career as a receiver, Davis spent his senior year in high school playing quarterback before returning to his natural position at UMHB.
“I was actually recruited as a quarterback,” he recalled. “I think I spent all of three days at quarterback, then they asked me if I could catch a football.”
Hauling in the pigskin never has been a problem for Davis, but he takes just as much pride in his other primary duty - blocking for an offense that averages 272 rushing yards per game.
“Catching the football is something receivers are supposed to do,” he said. “But as far as making that extra effort of getting downfield and making that block, coaches challenge us to do those things. And we take it upon ourselves to compete with each other on who can get more knockdowns.”
But for all that he does to help keep the Crusaders’ ground attack rolling, it’s his ability to stretch the field that Davis is most recognized for.
Of his eight TD receptions, only one has been less than 30 yards and three have covered more than 50 yards, including an 82-yarder against McMurry.
“When I get to the line, I’m checking to see what coverage the defense is in because my routes depend on it,” he said. “We have to recognize what they’re doing before the ball is snapped so that we know what to do.
“Then it’s just getting downfield and concentrating on catching the football. Sometimes on deep routes, if you’re wide open and the quarterback wants to make sure he doesn’t overthrow you, it seems like the ball is in the air forever. It’s like, ‘Come on, get here, get here.’”
What’s here is UMHB’s first semifinal at home. And if the Crusaders (12-1) can get past the Warhawks (12-1), they will earn their second trip to the Stagg Bowl and a shot at the national championship.
“That’s always our goal here, but I didn’t expect to have this kind of season - for me personally,” Davis said. “That just shows how much trust the coaching staff has put in this receiving corps to make plays.
“They saw us put in the work. It wasn’t just us saying, ‘Throw us the ball and we’ll make plays.’ We’ve shown that we can do it.”
And that’s not bragging. That’s the truth.
