Lavel Davis Jr. was a mystery when he first stepped on the field for Virginia in 2020, a debut that had him catch four balls for 101 yards and two TDs in a 38-20 win over Duke.
Davis, a 6’7” burner from South Carolina, ended his freshman season with 20 catches, a 25.8 yards per catch average, and high expectations for what he could become as he continued to learn the game at the college level.
A torn ACL in spring practice in 2021 threatened to set him back, but Davis, instead, took the injury and rehab as a chance to grow.
“Just honing on my craft, because my first year, I feel like it was more like, not going to say freestyle, but it was more like you come straight out of high school, and you’re trying to catch up with everybody in college,” Davis said. “This season, I can really show my talent, really show that I’m one of the greats in college, one of the great receivers in the country.”
The guy who found Davis towering over cornerbacks in high school in South Carolina, Virginia wide receivers coach Marques Hagans, has tracked the growth, on the field and off, of the rising redshirt sophomore.
“I think he grew as a teammate, because last year he spent without football, and so who he became as a teammate, who he became as a person, I think was his biggest opportunity for growth,” said Hagans, who played quarterback and wideout at Virginia, and then three years in the NFL at wide receiver.
Hagans said the focus for Davis needs to be: patience.
“He’s got to realize and understand that he missed the whole year. It’s been a year without him playing football, and to think that everything’s going to be back in place by day two, that’s a pretty tall bill,” Hagans said. “I think just encouraging him to continue to focus on a little things, focus on the appreciation of being able to play the game again, and just knowing that he’s not going to get 365 days back in 15 practices, he’s got to focus on a little things, take it in stride. There’s a lot of football to be played in the spring and a lot of football to be played in 2022.”
The Virginia offense grew by leaps and bounds in 2021, with QB1 Brennan Armstrong, in his second year as the starter, throwing for 4,449 yards and 31 TDs, and wideouts Dontayvion Wicks (57 catches, 1,203 yards), Keytaon Thompson (78 catches, 990 yards) and Billy Kemp IV (74 catches, 725 yards) putting up monster years.
And now, you get Davis back.
Wow.
“He’s worked really hard to get back on the field, and now he’s here, and now we’re just trying to build that chemistry back up like I did my first year starting with him,” Armstrong said. “Now, it’s good. I don’t think we’re behind. We’re not ahead. I think we’re just right on track. I think we continue to be right on track. And I’m looking forward to him just being out there and being a presence on our field.”
“Lavel is a great guy, man, and I’m excited for him,” Thompson said. “He had a really good freshman year. I can tell how much he’s grown as a person and as a player from dealing with his injury and really working to get back and become strong and get back to himself, working in practice. I’m really excited for him. It’s good seeing him out there playing and having fun. He’s going to be really special.”
He just … needs to be patient.
After the first day of spring practice, Davis conceded to being “way more nervous” than he thought he was going to be getting back out on the field.
“But once practiced started going, it kind of died down, and I just started playing like my old self again,” Davis said. “In the walk-throughs, Coach was telling me, slow down, slow down, calm down. I’m just blessed to feel tired again and feel exhausted.”
Story by Chris Graham
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