Davis runs past poverty to Clemson stardom
While raising her children in Atlanta, Teresa Davis had two key rules — go to school, and when you come home, come inside.
Those rules ensured survival in two of the city’s roughest neighborhoods.
“I’d stay in the house all the time except to go to work,” she said. “We didn’t mess with people when we stayed in the projects.”
Davis talks about survival in matter-of-fact terms because she and her family have made it.
Her son, James, is one of the Clemson roster’s biggest success stories — a powerful tailback, strong leader and a huge reason why the Tigers are 9-3 heading into a New Year’s Eve Chick-fil-A Bowl date with Auburn.
For the Davis clan, this Christmas season and bowl week isn’t just a homecoming. It’s a celebration of survival.
On Jan. 1, James turns 22 with a realistic chance at a college degree and NFL stardom — two things most of his peers never sniffed.
“I’m proud of him, so proud of him,” Teresa said recently. “I always tell him I am so proud of him.”
Right from the start, the odds were stacked against James Davis becoming a productive member of society. He never knew his father, and his family lived in East Lake Meadows, one of the most notorious housing projects in Atlanta.
Before being demolished for mixed-use housing in 1997, East Lake Meadows (also known as “Little Vietnam”) was one of the most dangerous places to live in America.
Its crime rate was 18 times higher than the national average, with an average of one murder per week. Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin said it was the only neighborhood in Atlanta she wouldn’t drive through alone.
It had a 13.5 percent employment rate, and 88 percent of families had an earned income of less than $1,000 per year. Of 450 families, only 16 had fathers in the home. A study showed the average age of grandmothers in the project was 32, and over 70 percent of the families living there were victims of serious crimes.
One incident helped change James’ life. When he was 10 years old, he and friends were outside playing when gunfire erupted.
One of his friends was shot and killed; James Davis ran away as fast as he could and didn’t stop until he got home.
“He was scared, shocked,” Teresa said. “He saw it when it happened. I was telling him, ‘Stay in the house, don’t look out the windows.’ He saw it and he was scared.”
That experience and others shaped James’ track. After moving from East Lake Meadows, the Davis family lived in another housing project, Leila Valley, in southeast Atlanta.
But, Teresa wanted a better life for James. So she sent him to live with her brother-in-law William Stevenson, a married father figure who lived in an apartment near Georgia Tech in the Midtown area.
The move enabled James to attend Douglass High School, a far more stable environment, especially compared with Leila Valley, where he said “there wasn’t much to do but get in trouble.”
“I looked at that situation,” he said. “I was living with my mom and moved in with my uncle on the other side of town, just to get away. You don’t have to see (negative influences) anymore and I could focus on what I had to do — go to school, graduate and play football.”
It worked. James Davis became a star tailback recruited by a number of BCS schools, including Georgia Tech, Georgia, Alabama, Virginia Tech and Clemson.
Friends wanted him to go to Georgia Tech, but Teresa encouraged him to expand his scope, and find a school further from home where he could focus on education and football.
Clemson, two hours up Interstate 85 but a world away as environments go, was the perfect choice.
“There are definitely a lot of distractions in Atlanta,” Davis said. “It comes with playing in a big city. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t want to go to Georgia Tech, why I wanted to get away from home. That’s why I chose Clemson. It helped me focus more going to school out of state.”
Following a brief bump in the road — Davis went home for two days during his first preseason camp, citing concerns about his role in the offense — he quickly became a star.
James Davis rushed for 879 yards and nine scores as a freshman, earning ACC Rookie of the Year honors. As a sophomore, he rushed for 1,187 yards and 17 touchdowns as a first-team All-ACC tailback. And even though his numbers have slipped a bit this year — 992 yards and 11 scores — he repeated first-team All-ACC honors.
He’s also become a vocal leader. Before a crucial game at Maryland, Davis guaranteed a win, and backed it up with 129 yards and a touchdown in a 30-17 win.
“He really started doing that back in the spring,” Clemson coach Tommy Bowden said. “We started mentioning his name as a leader, and he’s practiced really good all year. I’m sure he’s going to be extra excited when we get to Atlanta. He’s done a good job and hasn’t deviated from that effort since back in the spring.”
After the Chick-fil-A Bowl, Davis faces a huge decision. The deadline to declare for the NFL draft is Jan. 15 and Davis must decide to try his fate in the draft or return to Clemson for his senior season.
Davis said earlier this month that if he’s projected as a first-round pick, he’ll declare. If he’s a third-round pick, he’ll return. If he’s slotted as a second-round pick, he’ll have a tough choice to make.
Teresa’s position is clear. She has a steady job working in a warehouse and lives in a safer neighborhood, but little would be better than watching James become the first member of his family to get a college degree.
“That’s what I want, a degree,” she said. “You’ve got to get your education, too.”
An NFL contract could provide big money, but it’s worth waiting for, she said.
“We’ve come this far, why not do another year?” she said. “Why not?”
If history is a guide, Davis will take her words very seriously.
After all, her guidance has gotten him this far. Why stop now?
“I really credit my mom. She’s been a big part of most of my decisions,” he said. “She gives me a lot of advice on what I should do and shouldn’t do. I go to her for advice. She’s a big deal for me.”
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