Clay Davis is a hunter and a fisher.
He likes being outdoors, doing things that require patience and force him to slow everything down. That’s at the heart of every hunter and fisher.
When he found that football at the varsity level was faster than what he was used to, he needed to slow the game down somehow. That’s when he figured out he could rely on his teammates, especially his wide receivers, to help slow the game down for him.
It really started to slow down for him when his first pass of the season was an 81-yard touchdown to Treyce Albin. He would go on to throw four touchdowns in the game to four different receivers.
“That really got my confidence up a lot,” he said. “That was a good kind of ‘into-the-fire’ of varsity football moment for me and it really got me off to a good start.”
After his strong start, Davis found some struggles, particularly against Canal Winchester. He took hits and had some throws miss.
“He took a lot shots,” coach Ryan Adams said. “He’s a tough kid and tough competitor, nobody wants to win more than him.”
Other than that game, however, Davis has found some success.
While Davis has relied on his receivers for some help this season, his receivers know they can rely on Davis to get them the ball.
Especially after the Bulldogs lost Brendan Sano, the co-offensive Player of the Year in the TVC last year, to graduation.
“There was never a down moment where we thought maybe we wouldn’t be able to do our same offense,” senior wide receiver Robert Dickelman said. “He stepped right in and we kept the fast pace.”
When Davis can spread the ball around not just to his main weapons, Albin and Dickelman, but the targets that don’t get as much attention, the Bulldogs -- Davis especially -- have more success.
Two of those targets that don't receive much attention are receivers Easton McCollum and Nick Barga. Both caught touchdowns last Friday against Vinton County.
Like most hunters and fishers, Davis is one of few words.
So after practice, standing with his helmet in hand, it’s no surprise that he would deflect praise in as little words.
“That’s the speed of the receivers,” he said, when talking about the accuracy of his deep throws. “They’re getting open.”
And no matter how much success Davis will find or how it happens, his humbleness probably won’t go away.
“My dad’s real good about that, he keeps me grounded,” Davis said. “I never really get a big head.”
