A Quiet Kid with a Big Frame

By: D. Scott Fritchen

He's a young man who's been on the Kansas State campus for less than two months and he's still finding his way. He's soft spoken, mild mannered, polite as they come, and eager to learn. Andre Davis can be described in so many ways. But here's what we can't help but notice first: He's 6-foot-4 and 206 pounds and one of the most physically-gifted wide receivers the Wildcats have had in recent memory. He's an 18-year-old product of Blue Valley (Kansas) High School who says that he's one-tenth of the way through the offensive playbook, a mid-year enrollee entrenched in 6 a.m. workouts and class and gelling with new teammates.

But understand, Davis has a gift. And when he finally takes the football field, and progresses in the Wildcats' offensive system, watch out.

"Just his body, as it matures even more, and as he gets bigger, faster and stronger, it'll be big," Blue Valley High School coach Allen Terrell says. "(K-State) does a great job utilizing individual players' skills and Andre has a special set of skills that I think can translate to K-State's offense.

"He has Sunday skills as well."

For now, Davis wears a lavender hoodie inside the team meeting room at the Vanier Family Football Complex. He tries to put it all into words.

"It' s still surreal to think I'm here," he says. "I still expect to wake up at home with my mom waking me up. But it's time to grow up."

For all his life, Davis has known the pigskin. His father, Willie, played eight years in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans. After moving from Texas, Davis played his junior and senior years at Blue Valley, including one year with close friend Sterling Lockett, who will be a redshirt freshman in the fall.

"The duo is back," Lockett tweeted when Davis committed to K-State on June 19.

"Sterling played a big role (in coming to K-State)," Davis says. "When I first moved to Blue Valley, he made it a way smooth transition for me. I know he'll do that for me here, too. I'm really excited to be up here and to be teammates with him again. It's going to be really fun."

Davis had 557 receiving yards during an injury-plagued senior season and finished with 1,460 yards and eight touchdowns in his two seasons at Blue Valley. The 88^th-best wide receiver prospect in the Class of 2023 by Rivals, Davis was the seventh-best player in the state of Kansas. K-State was the first to offer Davis on October 14, 2021. He received six more scholarship offers over the next three months. He had scholarship offers from K-State, Iowa State, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Tennessee State and Tulane. He narrowed his choices to K-State, Iowa State and Iowa before deciding on the Wildcats.

"He has God-given tools," Terrell says. "He's 6-foot-4, but has length like a 7-foot kid. His reach and the way he goes up and gets the football and his athletic ability, obviously there's really good genetics there, and he has that ability to go up and compete for it. Just those fine motor skills along with that makes him a force."

For now, Davis looks to further engrain himself in the playbook. He studies formations each day with a graduate assistant coach. He's excited to utilize that early knowledge in spring practice. One day, he'll be out there making plays in games.

"My biggest strength? Definitely going up and getting the ball," Davis says. "The offense that K-State runs, they like to spread the ball out, and they're balanced between the run and the pass. I have to keep working."

And he'll do so without demanding individual attention.

"He's a super-good student and citizen," Terrell says. "He loves his teammates. He's an easy kid to like. He's not a look-at-me guy. He's not a big cellphone guy or social media guy. He's a private guy. Anytime you've lived with your father being an NFL player and you've lived around NFL players, none of this is new or shocking."

But, alas, it's a whole new world out there for young Davis.

He embraces each step each day.

"I just want to do my best," he says, "and make everybody proud."

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Sterling Lockett

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