Derrick Davis

Derrick Davis’ introduction to organized football came at age 7, when he had trouble following a basic rule of the flag football league: No hitting allowed.

“Even though it was flag football, I was still tackling kids,” Davis said with a laugh. “I remember parents would always be yelling, ‘Derrick, you can’t tackle them.’ I would say, ‘I’m trying, I’m trying.’”

A decade later, hitting is still part of Davis’ reputation. Only now, it’s a good thing. When it comes to football players in the WPIAL, Davis just might be the biggest hit.

Davis is a senior at Gateway High School who many consider the top player in the WPIAL for the 2020 season. He has been a three-year starter and a standout on offense and defense. He is rated highly by scouting services and is one of the most heavily recruited players in the state. All you need to know about his talent is that Pitt, Penn State, LSU, Alabama, Clemson and Georgia are among the many schools that have offered him a scholarship.

Davis is now 6 feet 1, 190 pounds, a running back on offense and a versatile defensive player who can play anywhere from safety, to corner and even outside linebacker. Rivals.com ranks him the No. 81 senior in the country and the No. 2 outside linebacker (it seems most colleges think defense is Davis’ future position). He has started on two WPIAL championship teams and has impressive individual statistics. But there is a small feeling of emptiness inside Davis, and only one thing can fill it in his final high school season.

“Winning a state championship. That’s it,” Davis said. “Ain’t nothing like holding up that state trophy. For me to win that for this school, this city, it would mean everything.”

When Davis was a freshman, Gateway lost in the PIAA Class 5A championship. Last year, the Gators lost in the PIAA semifinals, when Davis didn’t play because of an injured ankle.

“I’ve gone to some camps with guys from other schools and areas who have won state championships,” Davis said. “Just to hear the excitement they have about being a state champion. I want to be one of those who has a state championship, too.

“I feel like with this being my senior year, you’re going to see something different. I feel like this might be the best year for our team. I don’t know. I just have that feeling. This could be the year where everyone is, like, ‘wow, he really is the truth.’”

But Davis already has been truly impressive in his first three years and he is on the cusp of hitting a

group of milestones that is rarely reached in the WPIAL. Davis has 3,151 career yards rushing on 395 carries (8.0 yards per carry), 91 receptions for 1,320 yards and 63 touchdowns.

Think of it: How many players in the history of the WPIAL have rushed for 4,000 career yards, had more than 100 receptions, more than 1,500 receiving yards and scored more than 80 touchdowns? But just a modest season would let Davis reach those milestones. A year ago, he rushed for 1,507 yards on 176 attempts, caught 36 passes for 547 yards and scored 28 touchdowns.

“What’s funny is just the other day I was looking at a team picture from 2017 and Derrick is next to (then senior) Courtney Jackson,” Gateway coach Don Holl said. “Courtney looks like an older guy and Derrick like a kid. But now Derrick looks like a man.”

Davis might be the man in the WPIAL this season. Holl speaks highly of Davis the player, but Holl wishes more people could know about Davis the person. Davis has been highly touted for a few years, ever since he made an impact on the 2017 WPIAL championship team as a freshman. Davis started getting college scholarship offers as a freshman. But Holl insists it’s Davis’ humbleness that has benefited the team greatly.

“He has handled this whole process about as well as a head coach could want a player like him to handle it,” Holl said. “When you’re getting the type of attention he has received, you can become a complete disaster for team chemistry and camaraderie in the locker room. But not him.

“If we walked on the field, you would know which guy is getting all the attention and the scholarships. It’s obviously him. But if you saw us in the locker room and him around the team, you’d have no idea. He’s just one of the guys.”

In other words, Davis doesn’t seek the spotlight.

“I want to be a leader for everybody,” Davis said. “But I was never the type to put out there, ‘Oh, I got this college offer and that college offer.’ That’s not me. I’m more just me being me.”

Derrick being Derrick is a by-product of his parents, Holl said. His mother, Venneasha Davis, is a teacher at Colfax, an elementary and middle school in the Pittsburgh Public Schools system. His father, Derrick Sr., is in the health care business and was a standout player in high school for coach Ted Ginn Sr. at Glenville High School (Ohio). He signed with Michigan State, but eventually ended up playing at Edinboro.

“His dad is a really, really good guy, but the mom is the glue. She’s not nasty or mean. She’s just tough,” Holl said with a laugh.

Derrick Davis has a grade-point average above 3.0.

“My mom couldn’t care less about football, as long as you have grades,” Derrick Davis said. “For her, you can’t be good at football, but be a dummy in the classroom.”

On the football field this season, Holl said Gateway might have to be more cognizant of how many times Davis touches the ball.

Although Davis obviously is a good runner, he also is adept at catching passes out of the backfield.

“I don’t know what we would change, but we have to remember that every time someone else touches the ball, he doesn’t,” Holl said. “There were games last year where we probably left going, ‘Man, I wish we would’ve handed off the ball to him a few more times or given him the ball a few more times.’ But then you win and score a lot of points and say, ‘Were we wrong?’

“But he’s been so great about it. He hasn’t ever been a ‘look at me’ guy.”

But many eyes will be on Davis this season for another reason. People will want to know his college decision. Davis had planned to make some college visits before the season, but those plans were foiled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Davis plans on narrowing his list of colleges “soon,” but gives no hints as to what colleges will be among his finalists. Pitt, Penn State, Ohio State and Clemson are pretty good bets to make the final list. He’s not sure when he will make a final decision.

“I just might make it a surprise,” Davis said.

But Davis’ mind is foremost on Gateway’s season.

“I feel like we have good chemistry this year,” Davis said. “Chemistry can bring a team a long way. If you don’t have chemistry, it’s going to be a rough year. We have that chemistry.”

And Gateway also has a big hit as a player.