Avery Davis reveals why he came back to Notre Dame, wanted Marcus Freeman as a head coach
When you talk about a utility player, leader and veteran presence on the Notre Dame football team, wide receiver Avery Davis has to be the first player to come to mind.
The graduate student, who was recruited as a quarterback and is entering his sixth year with the program, has played running back and defensive back, and is now a wideout has had one of the more tumultuous Irish careers in recent memory. But he stuck it out, and now he’s back.
But it wasn’t always going to be that way.
Davis joined the first episode of the Varsity House Podcast, which was released in its entirety on Tuesday and is hosted by former Irish defensive back Shaun Crawford, and opened up about his injury struggles, why he came back for 2022 and the role Marcus Freeman played in that decision.
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“It was a step that I’ve taken millions of times before. It wasn’t an exaggerated step. My body wasn’t out of frame or anything like that.”
That’s how Davis described the ACL tear he suffered against Navy in November, one which ended a promising outing for the fifth-year senior. At that point in the season, Davis had 27 catches for 386 yards and four scores. He was Notre Dame’s starting receiver in the slot.
“So now I’m like, ‘What am I doing?'” Davis said. “That whole month, every day I would ask myself ‘What am I doing?’ and I didn’t have an answer for it.
“I was in a bad place. I (couldn’t) move my leg.”
Davis contemplated ending his college football career, even though he had another year of eligibility. It had been five years, and Davis had a total of 66 catches for 862 yards and eight scores, plus 34 carries and 156 yards from his days as a running back.
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“Honestly, there was a point when I was contemplating not even playing anymore,” Davis said. “You get knocked down so many times, it’s hard to keep getting back up.”
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Then a certain coaching change happened.
Shortly after Davis’ surgery, while he was still completely incapacitated and unable to walk, former Irish head coach Brian Kelly left for LSU.
As a captain, Davis was able to give his input about Kelly’s replacement. Freeman’s name was on the table, and he supported it immediately.
“I had already been around Coach Freeman, felt his energy, and I felt like the university needed change,” Davis recalled. “So when (they) came to me, I’m like, ‘Oh, definitely. I’m on board with that. I definitely don’t want somebody just coming in off the street with their own new stuff or new coaching staff with a complete shift.’
“I wanted a person who already knew how special Notre Dame is.”
Davis added he was totally fine with, and actually encouraged, bringing in new ideas and freshening certain things up. He felt Freeman brought just that, and it made him reconsider his lean toward leaving football behind.
“I felt the energy in the building,” Davis said. “It just felt different. I (wanted) to be a part of this. I’ve got one more year. Why look back on this in 30 years and think, ‘I had one more year. Why didn’t I go for it?’”
