Specialists Path- Brian Davis

Playing as a true freshman in Division 1 football is an adjustment for any player but there is added pressure for a placekicker. Imagine if your first game of your career was against Auburn in front of 87,000 people.

This is the story of freshman Brian Davis, who is the starting kicker at Arkansas State University, which plays in the Sun Belt Conference. Brian has always had the talent to play Division 1 football but he had a wild ride in the process of signing a full scholarship on National Signing Day.

Learn how Brian ended up with a scholarship and his trials and tribulations as a starting kicker in major college football.

This is Brian Davis “On A Specialists Path”.

Brian became interested in kicking his 8th grade year and after a little instruction he really started to develop a passion for it.

“My 8th grade year I was kicking footballs off a tee in my backyard and noticed I had a big leg for my size”, Brian said. “My freshman year I worked with Charlie West and he truly showed me how to love kicking.”

Brian was a goalkeeper in soccer and was also the kicker/punter at Brentwood High School. Brentwood has always had a very good soccer program, which has helped them produce some very good kickers. By the end of Brian’s junior year at Brentwood he had really developed an interest in being a college kicker.

I contacted Brian after his junior season about getting kicking lessons and by the time I worked with him that next July I could see he was a bit behind in the recruiting process. He had attended a limited number of camps that Summer and was getting very little recognition by schools.

After two days of kicking lessons I was really impressed with Brian’s talent and thought he had the talent to get a major Division 1 scholarship. I suggested he go to some of the major scholarship camps to get noticed and I am glad he took my advice.

“The recruiting process is really hectic”, Brian said.

“It’s all politics. It’s who you know. I know I would not have gotten any interest from TCU if it would not have been for my uncle being close with Coach Patterson. Also, I believe I would not have gotten the scholarship to Arkansas State if it weren’t for winning the Kohl’s Competition that last December and Jamie Kohl recommending me.

“It’s all about winning camps and charting well in those camps. If you do well in the kicking camps you have yourself a scholarship.”

Like Brian said recruiting can certainly be hectic and it is important to be patient when you are searching for a school. Kicking specialists are the last position that college coaches focus on and that means that a lot can change before National Signing Day.

I talked with Brian in January after I finished my internship over at the University of Tennessee with Coach Eddie Gran. He and his father were very concerned about the recruiting process and I told them to be patient. Pretty soon after that conversation he got the attention he was waiting on.
A wild group of events led to Brian getting an opportunity at Arkansas State. The kicker that was committed to the University of Arkansas decommitted and went to Texas. Next the kicker who was committed to Arkansas State decommitted and went to Arkansas, and that left a scholarship available for a kicker at Arkansas State.

Brian was offered a scholarship soon after the previous kicker decommitted. He and his family then made a last second trip to Jonesboro, Arkansas to see the campus and he decided to sign his Letter of Intent the next day.

After Brian took a deep breath he then had time to ponder that he would be competing for the starting job as a true freshman. It was certainly a big step for him.

“Playing College Football as a freshman has been a little overwhelming considering how different college kicking is to high school kicking”, Brian said.

“Now it’s more of a business, and people’s careers are at jeopardy every time you miss a kick. It’s just a lot more pressure to excel at your highest level possible with a lot more people following you and hoping that you will make a field goal every time you step on the field. It’s just a lot more demanding as high school football. It’s such a huge jump.”

Speaking of it being a business, Brian’s coach at Arkansas State, Steve Roberts, just resigned today after nine seasons as head coach. This is an important lesson for guys to not go to a school for just a coach. For example, my recruiting coach at Tennessee, Doug Marrone, left for the New York Jets about a week after Signing Day. He is now the head coach at Syracuse University.

Brian’s opening game of his college career was on the road against the number one ranked Auburn Tigers. This was quite an experience for him and he certainly rose to the occasion.

“The most memorable moment of my career would definitely be the Auburn game”, Brian said.
“As a freshman, my first game of my career being against one of the top teams in the country, it was absolutely insane. My first extra point was blocked, and that was certainly a wakeup call for me and my team. I hit my first two field goals of my career at that game, from 26 and 41, and I will never forget it for the rest of my life.”

While he will never forget his opening game success against Auburn, he would like to forget the next few weeks after that though.

As he was competing for the starting job in training camp, he was a little tense and was kicking way too much. Like most true freshman you are getting use to being away from home plus dealing with an increase in competition. This can be a lot to handle for an 18 year old.

“I was not very patient at all during fall camp this year, and due to my over kicking, I tore my quad after the Auburn game”, Brian said.

“I was just so anxious and so excited I kicked way too much and over worked my leg to the point where I initially only strained it, but shrugged it off and kept on kicking and eventually just tore it."

“What made me overcome it though in the end was really coming to the realization that God did this to me so that I would learn the importance of patience. As the season went on a grew more and more patient with the whole process and listened to my trainers on how to get better and actually got back a week before they thought I would be.”

Once he was healthy he reclaimed his starting spot in the MTSU game and he hasn’t looked back since. He finished the season making 6 of 8 field goals and is poised for a successful 2011 campaign.

“My goal this offseason is getting bigger and working on my perfecting my form”, Brian said. “I think once I get bigger and stronger though the rest will soon fall into place. That is my main focus is just getting bigger and stronger and just having more fun.”

Brian has accomplished quite a bit so far in his career and if he continues to improve I believe Arkansas State fans will enjoy having a fantastic kicker for the next three years!

Visit: www.jameswilhoitkickingcoach.com

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