Player of the Week: Coach calls Stephen Davis’ performance on offense ‘incredible’

Dutch Fork coach Tom Knotts always envisioned Stephen Davis Jr. playing defense in college.

After Friday’s performance against Boiling Springs, Knotts isn’t so sure. Davis Jr., the No. 2 ranked prospect in the state according to Rivals, made a big splash in his first start at running back by rushing for 204 yards, six touchdowns and also catching a 50-yard TD pass in the 54-34 victory.

“It was an incredible performance, was on par with some of the things his dad did,” Knotts said. “He broke tackles, he ran fast, he out ran people, he lowered his shoulder, he stiff-armed people. He was the total package Friday night.”

Davis deflected his success to his Silver Foxes’ teammates, especially the offensive line.

“Shout out to my offensive linemen. My offensive linemen did a great job Friday; so did my quarterback and the rest of the offense,” Davis Jr. said. “Without them, I couldn’t do anything.”

Davis Jr. said he isn’t sure if his dad, Stephen Davis Sr., had seven touchdowns in a high school game and knows he has some work to put up the numbers his father did at Spartanburg High in 1989-90. The elder Davis rushed for more than 4,000 yards and 56 TDs over his final two seasons in high school before going on to a stellar career at Auburn and in the NFL.

Knotts said he expects to see the younger Davis, 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, follow in his dad’s footsteps and playing in the NFL, but he doesn’t know what position he will be playing. Before the season started, he planned to involve Davis Jr. more on offense but thought he wasn’t going to do it until later in the year.

But with a bye week early in the season, and Dutch Fork off to an 0-2 start, it seemed the perfect time to get Davis Jr. more involved in the offense.

Knotts said he doesn’t plan on overusing the four-star recruit, but that Davis Jr. will get the bulk of the carries for the rest of the season.

“At first I saw him as a defensive player. I swear I see him as an offensive player now,” Knotts said. “He is long, he is fast, he is strong, he is big. Wherever he goes, they will figure out the right place for them. We are going to see him on Sundays, too. He is a work in progress and is a young boy. He is only going to get better with time.”

Davis Jr., who recently decommitted from Auburn, isn’t sure if teams will recruit him differently because of his success on offense. He said during his visit to South Carolina that coaches said they could see him playing linebacker.

Davis Jr. said he misses playing safety on a full-time basis, although he will play on third-down situations. He said he is still getting used to things on offense and that was evident Monday in practice when coaches helped him out on where to be in certain formations.

Still, Davis Jr. thinks he can help his team more with the ball in his hands.

“I’m very comfortable and just have to get used to it and take it day by day, game by game,” Davis said.

This story was originally published September 15, 2015 at 4:18 PM.