Friday, Nov. 28, 2008

Clemson vs. USC: Wrong turn for James Davis

Unfulfilling season poses a final exam for the maturity running back has gained in college

CLEMSON — Many a late Monday morning, Clemson running back James Davis entered Tommy Bowden’s office without appointment.

It was hardly uncommon for Davis to spend an hour bending his coach’s ear about the Tigers’ next game plan or how he should handle questions from the media.

Six weeks ago, Bowden resigned. Later that week, he showed up after midnight to remove his belongings from the office.

“I haven’t been in there since,” Davis said this week. “Haven’t looked in there. I don’t know why. It’s nothing against coach (Dabo) Swinney. It’s been hard on him, too. It’s just me.”

Much like the office space, Davis admits to having been changed by this season of unfulfilled expectations.

Tears streamed down his face the night Bowden resigned. If that is not the lasting image of Davis’ maturation during his time at Clemson, the emotional exchange he expects to share with the crowd Saturday before running down the Death Valley hill for the final time could be.

Either display would constitute a 180-degree swing from the first impression Davis gave as a freshman, when he left in the preseason because was dissatisfied with his anticipated role.

Contrary to his first three seasons, Davis has yet to make headlines for grumbling about a lack of carries or how he has been used in the offense.

Davis offers any number of reasons, but his close friend and backfield mate, junior C.J. Spiller, suggests the firestorm that culminated in Bowden’s departure had a profound impact on Davis.

“He understands things from both sides now,” Spiller said. “The freshman James would have lashed out. But he’s more mature and understanding. And it’s given him a better image as a person than a player.”

The definitive example of that growth came when Davis withdrew from the NFL draft at the 11th-hour and stated his goal was to help Clemson earn its elusive championships and break the school’s career rushing record.

Coming off consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, it seemed a foregone conclusion Davis would log the 837 yards needed to surpass Raymond Priester (3,966, 1994-97).

Yet for reasons mostly beyond his control — primarily an inexperienced and struggling offensive line — Davis has run into a brick wall on a weekly basis. He is averaging 57.6 yards per game and doesn’t rank among the ACC’s top-10 rushers.

The odds are against Davis gaining the 203 yards he needs to break the record.

For weeks, a smiling Davis has come across as resigned to the fact he will not break the record, even cracking jokes about it.

“I learned to carry my emotions off the field,” Davis said. “Just keep them to myself. Write them down on a sheet of paper and ball it up.

“Coach Bowden always used to tell me to let things come to me. My job is to do what I do best — run hard — and try to help this team win games. I just think I’m more relaxed.”

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Swinney met with each Clemson player individually, thanking them for the effort they gave during his six-game audition.

When Davis made his way into Swinney’s office on Wednesday, Swinney told him the difference between who he is now compared to the Atlanta kid who arrived four years ago is “night and day.”

“He’s grown into a man who’s learned humility and grace, how to win and how to lose,” Swinney said. “Then to watch how he and C.J. have developed a genuine friendship and support for one another, the unselfishness, is really something to see.

“He has matured probably way, way more than anyone would have imagined when he came here.”

Davis welled up Tuesday when asked about playing his last game with Spiller, his “Thunder & Lightning” running mate, whom he helped recruit to Clemson.

Davis said college has taught him all good things must come to an end, as illustrated by the fact the two people who were his sounding boards — Bowden and former running backs coach Burton Burns — will not be on hand to celebrate with him.

“The hardest lesson is this is a business,” Davis said. “From coach Burns being here and leaving, then with coach Bowden leaving, you kind of think about those are the guys who brought you in here, and both are gone.

“You can’t really hold on to too many things in life. You have to move on.”

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