Davin Vann earns right to wear No. 1
Yes, there will be someone wearing jersey No. 1 for NC State football this season. The coveted number had previously gone unclaimed until Monday, when the program announced that fourth-year junior Davin Vann, recently voted a team captain, will have the honor.
Vann, though, was not a slam dunk to agree to wear No. 1. His prior number 45 had special meaning for him and his family. Vann is the middle child in a family of nine children, including younger brother Rylan Vann, who is a redshirt freshman backup center for NC State. The math of four plus five adds up to nine. Furthermore, one of the Vanns’ sisters tragically died on the ninth day of a month.
Thus, for Davin Vann, giving up 45 to wear No. 1 was “bittersweet.”
“My mom really wanted me to stay 45, but it’s hard to say no [to 1],” Vann admitted. “It’s a great opportunity. I thought about it for a week or two, and I came to the decision to wear No. 1.”
Vann follows in the footsteps of some of the most notable NC State football players under head coach Dave Doeren, including do-it-all All-America tight end Jaylen Samuels, NFL starting defensive end James Smith-Williams and linebacker Isaiah Moore, one of the more respected leaders to come through the Wolfpack program in recent memory.
“It means a lot,” Vann said. “I know I am following big footsteps, but I am trying to leave my mark, too.”
Vann admitted that he was surprised when Doeren initially approached him about wearing the number. Linebacker Payton Wilson was asked about No. 1 in the spring, but Wilson told Doeren he wanted to finish out his career with the number he has always worn — 11.
For Vann, this is the latest example of the coaches helping him grow into a responsibility he admits he may not have previously embraced.
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“They kind of forced me into a leadership position that I wasn’t really comfortable with all the time,” Vann explained.
“It’s a big honor,” Vann added. “Getting No. 1, you’re that one guy that can lead.”
Vann’s first test of leadership will come Thursday evening at Connecticut. Vann complimented the athleticism of the Huskies’ offensive line, and he also is keenly aware that nothing is a given in the sport of college football.
A year ago, a highly touted NC State football team traveled to East Carolina for the season opener only to barely survive thanks to a pair of missed kicks by the Pirates, including a field goal in the final seconds of a 21-20 Pack win.
“The biggest lesson we take from last year is not getting comfortable and thinking that we are going to walk into somebody’s house and they’re just going to roll over for us,” Vann noted. “In college football, everybody can beat everybody.”
