Oct. 13, 2008

Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina senior running back Mike Davis speaks about his experiences at Carolina and what it means to him to be a part of the Gamecock Football program.

Inside the Huddle with Mike Davis
By Bryan Powell

Q: How does it feel to be a senior?

“It feels good. I’ve put my time in and my time’s here. I look at the season the same way every year. I just go out, play hard, and try to help the team win.”

Q: You recently went on a trip to Hawaii. What did you enjoy about that trip?

“It was a great trip. I love Hawaii. I went tubing. I went to Diamondhead. I went out in the ocean. I ate all of the exotic food. I even had calamari. It was the craziest thing that I ate because it was the raw calamari. It was good. The people and the atmosphere are great. It was just a beautiful place. I would love to live there one day.”

Q: You’re from Columbia. What are some of the advantages to coming to school so close to home?

“It’s a great thing for me because I’m big on family. I grew up here and I have a lot of friends here. It’s great having that support of the city and the state behind you. It’s a good thing to have.”

Q: What made you stay here in Columbia?

“Really what kept me here was my family. It’s encouraging to stay here at home. I already know the roads so I don’t have to get familiar with them. I know where to go for fun. Columbia, to me, is Southern hospitality. You have to love it. It’s fun living here. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

Q: What are some of the differences between past teams and this team?

“This team, like the other teams, is really close. We have fun and hang out all the time. We have a really close team, especially in my group (running backs). I treat everybody like brothers. Even with the past running backs, Daccus Turman, Cory Boyd, I still talk to those guys. We’re part of Carolina history and we talk a lot together. Even the players I don’t know, I feel like I have something in common with those guys. It’s just a big family.”

Q: What were you able to learn from some of those past running backs, Cory Boyd, Daccus Turman that you can teach to the younger running backs? What can you give to them that you were able to get from those guys?

“Well, with Daccus (Turman), he was a hard-nosed back. He’s tough. With Cory (Boyd), he was a leader. He was really talented. Both of them treated me like a brother, so now that I’m a senior, I’m going to do the same thing. I’m going to help them out just like I was helped out.”

Q: What’s one of your favorite experiences that you’ve had as a Carolina football player?

“It’s hard to choose just one, but my thing that stands out is I walked into a store one day and I saw a little kid that had my jersey on. That was one of the best moments of my life just to see that.”

Q: What about being on games like EA Sports’ NCAA Football 2009? Do you try to run the ball a lot or boost up your stats?

“(Laughing) No, I play football. I’m a competitor. Anything I can do to win, that’s what I’m going to do.”

Q: Is there a game or a play that stands out in your memory as something that you’ll always remember?

“There are a couple of games. When we beat Clemson that was a bone-chilling experience. When we beat Florida that was a bone-chilling experience. When we beat Georgia and Tennessee, those were bone-chilling nights. Just going out there and winning is a good feeling.”

Q: What’s it like playing football here at Williams-Brice Stadium?

“Wow. “2001”, the hype is incredible. Whenever I hear it, I get goose bumps. One time I was in a meeting room during camp, and they were testing the sound system. They played “2001” and I just got excited. Even though it was the summer and weeks before the first game, I was excited. This stadium, the fans, when it’s live, it’s live. When you’re here, you love it.”

Q: What makes you different being Mike Davis? What do you bring to the team?

“I think I give the people on the team someone to talk to. I’m really down to earth. You can come talk to me. I try to treat everybody like family. I’m just another player that comes to play hard and win.”

Q: What is great about being a Gamecock?

“It’s South Carolina, the SEC. To me, there’s no better place to be. We have good fans, we have a good city, we have good people, and we have a good team. We play hard. If you want to come here and you play hard, you’re tough, this is the place for you.”