Sept. 24, 2014
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The program player profile will be featured here each Wednesday after a home game. Junior tailback Mike Davis was the third profile in the 2014 game program. Here is the feature that was in the game program for the Georgia game.
Mike Davis – From a Big Family to a Bigger One
By Kate Milani – Media Relations Student Assistant
“You’ll start your own legacy,” was the advice Mike Davis received when he joined the South Carolina roster in 2012. It came from the older brother in whose shadow he always seemed to be in as he was growing up.
James Davis had been a star football player at Clemson years prior, and when Mike signed at South Carolina, some viewed this as starting a family rivalry in the state. Davis insists that is simply not the case.
“We really don’t have too much of a family rivalry,” said Davis. “My brother will always root for Clemson, but he’ll also root for me to do good against Clemson.”
James is not the only sibling Davis has. In fact, he is one of six children in the Davis family, where bonds are strong and stories are abundant. No one will ever know who threw a frozen snake, an animal that he is extremely afraid of, on Davis when he was sleeping nor which sibling really cut his brother Harvey’s hair off that one night years ago, but what people will know is that they would do anything for each other.
When Davis tells stories about his family, the love is visible in his eyes, but he insists that growing up was, “Rough,” at times.
“Growing up in the house, having two brothers and three sisters, me being the youngest – I had to always fight for what I wanted, nothing was ever given to me.”
Except Gamecock fans know that wasn’t entirely true, he was given something – the ability to play football, and to play it well.
Davis recalls that he had been a, “Late bloomer,” when it came to the game of football. While other boys were beginning their careers at six years old, Davis joined the game at 10. His eventual start in football came courtesy of another family member, his mother, who was simply tired of him spending so much time playing video games.
Now, her youngest child, the one she plucked from the couch and placed on the football field, is a second team All-SEC tailback for a team that finished fourth in the country in the 2013 season – the same year he registered 1,183 yards on the ground, the fourth-most single season rushing yards in Gamecock history.
“I’m thankful,” Davis said. “I’m happy that I was able to [win those awards], but also happy to represent my family well. It’s always about the `Davis’ brand, representing not only my family, but the school right, showing people that it can be done the right way.”
As aforementioned, Davis came from a big family, but he understands he now has an even bigger family, the Gamecock family, which includes his many teammates.
“I’m a family person first, I love my teammates. I’d do anything for my teammates,” Davis said, “I’m thankful for the opportunity I have to play football and I’m thankful for the people that are around me.”
This graciousness Davis has for his teammates shows in his goals for the 2014 season – goals that go beyond just improving his stat line and awards.
“Of course, I would love to be on the first team All-America, but all-in-all I just want to win, help my teammates out. I’m a teammate person. I like to see the guys do good, so if anything, I want to make the guys around me better.”
As an upperclassman this year, Davis realizes he has become what the team calls an “old-head.” As an old-head, he’s become accustomed to practicing hard, going full speed and realizing that things won’t always go his way. This experience, coupled with his many accolades, has helped him become a leader on the team.
“I didn’t come in thinking I was a leader,” stated Davis. “When I first got here, we had guys like D.J. Swearinger and Marcus Lattimore, so of course I didn’t come in thinking I was a leader. But after having the accomplishments I had last year, I know the new guys coming in – I think a lot of those (guys) – they do look up to me, look to see if I’m doing the right things. So, of course, I want to make sure I am doing the right things and that I’m on the right path.”
In reality, Davis should have known he was destined to be a leader since high school, a time when he received the best compliment in his life.
“It really touched me when a little kid came up to me and said, `You know you’re a great player, a great athlete, you’re humble, you’re doing good’ and he basically said, `I want to be like you when I grow up,'” Davis sighed, “That stuck with me for a long time.”
Now that Davis has a team full of brothers and people who look up to him, it is his turn to be the older brother to his younger teammates, caring for them, teaching them and leading them by example.
Leading teammates is not something Davis can do forever, though. Beyond his playing days, he would like to return to the University of South Carolina in some capacity, perhaps even to coach.
“Being a football player now, I would say coaching – that’s a hard job. But if the opportunity comes, I’m quite sure I will go to it.”
Davis insists that there is life after football. Should he decide not to coach, he says he is interested in becoming a counselor to help other people out, like a social worker.
While his future is bright and the possibilities are endless, Davis just wants his Gamecock family to know one thing.
“I’m glad I came here, I made the right decision and I’m thankful for every opportunity that I have been given here at the University of South Carolina.”
