Leading The Way To Wins
September 15, 2010 | Football
Sept. 15, 2010
Originally printed Sept. 11, 2010 in the First and Goal football game program
By Sarah Fetters,
Assistant Director of Media Relations
All I do is win, win, win; no matter what.
Those opening words to a DJ Khaled song could serve as the title track for East Carolina junior defensive back Emanuel Davis' athletic accomplishments.
His past three seasons on an active football roster, Davis has played in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) 1-A State Championship game for Manteo and then back-to-back Conference USA title contests and subsequent AutoZone Liberty Bowls.
With Manteo, football was not the only sport in which Davis found success as he captured the NCHSAA triple jump title as a junior with a leap of 44 feet, 3/4 inches. He also averaged nearly 20 points and more than five assists per game as the Redskins' top point guard.
"It was a lot of fun playing all those sports in high school," Davis said with a smile. "It kept me busy. God blessed me with some great teams and teammates."
Davis and his classmates lost just four games during his final three seasons at Manteo. While he served as a team captain during his senior campaign, he helped the Redskins shut out nine opponents in 2006 and post a 15-1 record with the only setback being a 28-7 loss to Elkin in the state championship game.
"I played with most of those guys all through the parks and recreation leagues," Davis said of his Redskins teammates. "It was good to be in a position to compete for the state championship. Unfortunately, we came up short."
A two-way starter during his career at Manteo, Davis rushed for 1,593 yards and 28 touchdowns on 185 carries during his final campaign. He also completed 35-of-57 passes for 691 yards and nine touchdowns. On defense, Davis recorded 127 tackles, 11 sacks, nine tackles for a loss, eight interceptions, six forced fumbles and four recovered fumbles.
Leading the Redskins to the state championship game at Kenan Stadium was also significant for Davis, who had had verbally committed to the University of North Carolina prior to entering his senior year. A coaching change prompted him to reconsider after John Bunting and his assistant coaches, who helped recruit Davis to the Tar Heels, were fired.
"ECU was closer to home and it was the first place to offer me a scholarship out of high school," Davis recalled. "I followed my heart, stayed close to home and became a Pirate."
Davis arrived in Greenville, but did not play as a true freshman. For a successful high school athlete, being told by coach Skip Holtz that he was going to redshirt could have been a disappointment for Davis, but he did not see it that way.
"When they told me I was going to redshirt, I took it as a good thing," Davis said. "I tried to perfect my game, work on the little things and get used to the speed of the college game. I think my redshirt year helped me out a whole bunch."
After that initial season of waiting, learning and developing, Davis burst onto the scene in 2008. In season opening upsets of nationally ranked Virginia Tech and West Virginia, Davis racked up eight tackles. Against Houston in ECU's first home league game, he picked off a Case Keenum pass and returned it 11 yards for a touchdown.
Three weeks later in a tie game at UCF, Davis forced and recovered a fumble on the Knights' last drive in regulation, then intercepted Michael Greco's first pass in overtime, paving the way for the Pirates' 13-10 victory.
Davis also had a highlight-reel first quarter against Marshall, intercepting Mark Cann passes on the Thundering Herd's first two drives.
In the C-USA Championship game at Tulsa, he made five tackles while helping the Pirates capture their first league title.
At the end of the season, Davis was rewarded with a Freshman All-America selection by Rivals.com and national All-Freshman honors by CollegeFootballNews.com, Sporting News and Phil Steele Magazine.
"I still can't believe that year," Davis said. "I was fortunate enough to make a couple plays and I thank God every day."
As a sophomore, Davis had another strong year, leading the Pirates in pass breakups with 12 and in solo tackles with 51. In ECU's Conference USA East Division-clinching victory against Southern Miss, Davis tied the program's single-game record with four pass breakups. He also picked off a pair of passes during the season and returned one at Tulsa for a touchdown, tying him for the most in an ECU career.
Davis saved some of his best for the biggest games, booking a career-high nine tackles in nationally televised ESPN home contests against Virginia Tech and Houston. During the C-USA title victory versus the Cougars, eight of Davis' nine stops were solo hits.
After the season, Davis faced a change in the East Carolina program as Holtz departed for the University of South Florida. Former Pirate and ECU alumnus Ruffin McNeill replaced Holtz. At first, Davis was a nervous, but he says the transition has gone smoothly.
"When Coach Holtz left, my first thought was that you can't get too emotionally involved," Davis said. "You know when you come here that this is a business.
"Coach McNeill came in and we started from scratch. He really relates to his players well so it has been a pretty easy transition."
Going into his second year as a starter, Davis will be counted on to lead a young defense that returns just one other starter, cornerback partner Travis Simmons. The expectations for Davis are still high as he is a preseason First-Team All-Conference USA choice by league coaches, Phil Steele Magazine and Blue Ribbon Football Yearbook. He also earned selection to the 2010 Consensus Draft Services Preseason FBS All-America Team (honorable mention).
While the players surrounding Davis have changed, his expectations remain simple, but high.
"I really don't have that many individual goals aside from not giving up anything deep to my man," Davis said. "For the team, I expect another Conference USA Championship to make it a three-peat."
