James Davis
September 30, 2002 09:59 AM | General
By Phil Caskey
Mountaineer
Illustrated
He
takes showers on a regular basis and his play on the field is anything but
foul. He never runs out of soap or shampoo, and he always has a smile on his
face.
But to everyone associated with Mountaineer football in the Puskar Center, senior linebacker James Davis is simply known as "Dirty."
Dirty is a far cry from the nickname the Stuart, Fla., native had when he began his first Mountaineer season in 1998. Back then it was "Uncle James" because of the large number of nieces and nephews he has in his family.
Even as a freshman, "Uncle James" would always be the one putting smiles on others’ faces in the Mountaineer locker room. It would all start by him saying, ‘What’s up Dirty?’, which was a phrase of endearment toward a fellow teammate.
"I got the nickname (Dirty) because when I first got here," he says with a smile that just barely misses touching each ear lobe, "I would walk around and say hi to people by saying ‘ What’s up dirty (a slang phrase from back home)?’ They were like ‘Dirty? I’m not dirty. You’re dirty.’ Then everyone started to call me by that name. It’s just stuck with me since."
That’s not the only thing that has stuck to him while he’s been a Mountaineer.
Most Mountaineer fans associate Davis with one of the best individual Mountaineer defensive performances in recent memory. Two seasons ago in his first collegiate start against East Carolina, a 42-24 Mountaineer win in Don Nehlen’s last home victory, "Dirty" etched his name in the WVU record books.
Against the Pirates on that cold November afternoon in Morgantown, Davis finished the game with nine tackles, six tackles for a loss (TFL) of 38 yards including four sacks. Three of those sacks of ECU quarterback David Garrard came in just six plays on one East Carolina possession.
That afternoon he tied a Mountaineer record for sacks in a game and his six TFLs surpassed Darryl Talley’s record of five set against Penn State in 1980.
"It felt pretty good, but I didn’t think about it at first," Davis says of that memorable day. "I was just out there having fun and playing the game I love. Afterwards everyone was telling me about the records and then I thought about it. It felt good because I had accomplished something."
Entering this season, Davis was tied for 11th on the NCAA active career sacks leader list with 14 and, to date, he is third all-time in Mountaineer history on the TFL list with 29, 10 shy of the record held by former teammate Kyle Kayden.
Statistics, numbers, records and nicknames aside, there is much more to the fifth-year player who will earn his master’s degree in special education at the end of this school year.
Like any other college student, when it’s not class work or football, Davis can be found hanging out with his friends in his free time, watching some of his favorite cartoons on television and checking up on his favorite NFL team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Buddies call him one of the nicest people they’ve ever met, a guy who will always lend an ear when it’s needed.
"I want to be remembered as a friend – a person who would always smile and laugh with you," Davis says. "My mom and dad were very disciplined with me growing up. They always told me to be respectful to every and anybody. I’m not going to be rude to anyone. They taught me the right ways to do things and that if you want to achieve something, then go get it."
That something could be playing professional football next season.
"The path I want to take is to live my life to the fullest," Davis says. "I will get my master’s in special education and I want to get a job to take care of my family. I just want to go out with a bang this season by going to a bowl and winning it. That’s the main goal right now.
"But, I’ve thought about playing professionally. You never know what is going to happen. It comes to my mind sometimes, but like my dad has always told me, you’re not promised anything. If it comes knocking I’ll have to say yes, but I’m not going to expect it."
Playing three positions in five years is something Davis never expected either. As a freshman he was moved from linebacker to safety, then back to linebacker before becoming a defensive end last season. After all that, he’s back to being one of the BIG EAST’s most punishing linebackers.
And if he has it his way, "Dirty" and the rest of the Mountaineers will have the rest of their opponents crying nothing but "uncle" for the rest of the season.
Uncle James, that is.
