Laney College running back strives toward professional football career

Ahmari Davis knows where he wants to go and he’s running to get there.

“I’m trying to make it all the way,” he said. And from the way schools have had their eyes on the 19-year-old Laney College running back, it seems he’s going to make it there.

The Northern California Football Conference (NCFC) named him National Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 14, after the Eagles’ 31–21 loss to Butte. Davis had “scored twice among his 20 carries for 214 yards,” according to the NCFC press release.

Laney Sports Information Director Scott Strain said he believes Davis is the quickest running back Laney has seen since CJ Anderson, now a running back for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League.

Family is a huge motivator for Davis.

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Davis is from Oakland, but now lives in Union City. Laney College recruited him out of James Logan High School, and now both Alabama and Hawaii have shown interest in him. Although he’s interested in going to any school that will offer him a full-ride scholarship, Davis’ dream school has been Louisiana State University, where he has family that he has never met.

Family is a huge motivator for Davis. He lives with both his parents and four older siblings, three sisters and one brother. He used to play football with his brother and cousins for fun. His uncles on both sides played football, and everyone is rooting for him.

He also said his sisters give him a lot of love and support. His parents have struggled financially and made sacrifices that Davis doesn’t take for granted. He’s looking for a school that will give him the best offer for him to help get his family in a better financial position.

“I feel like it’s the reason I was born, it’s the reason I play football,” he said. “It’s bigger than me.”

He has a 7-year-old nephew and a 6-year-old niece. “I really do what I do for my niece and my nephew,” Davis said. “I just want them to look up to me and see something good, and know that they can be better.”

Davis has learned more than just how to play the game from being an Eagle. “It’s more than just wins and losses,” he said. His coaches have encouraged him to practice work ethic along with football skills.

“I realized that instead of putting football in my life, I needed to put my life in football.”

— Ahmari Davis, Laney College running back

Davis said at first he had times when he’d be lazy and show up late to practice, but the coaches quickly broke that out of him. “I realized that instead of putting football in my life, I needed to put my life in football,” he said.

Practice as a Laney Eagle football player takes up about three hours a day, five days a week, not including games. When he’s not practicing, he’s hanging out with friends, exercising in his spare time, and doing the work for his 16-unit course load. He’s getting his Associate Degree this December in Social Science, and will start looking at four-year schools after he finishes this football season.

Davis describes himself as sensitive, which he thinks people wouldn’t expect. He listens to music by Meek Mill, J. Cole, or Omb Peezy. He also likes listening to lyrical poetry. “I care a lot,” he said. “People think I’m mean, because I keep to myself and I’m an introvert, but when you really get to know me you see I’m a chill person, I don’t really like confrontation.”

Davis said part of why he loves football is that he can use it as an outlet for his personal problems. If he gets mad or frustrated, he can put that energy into football.

“My dad would always say ‘you gotta stand for something or you’ll fall for anything.’”

— Ahmari Davis, Laney College running back

On Sept. 22 Davis (who scored three touchdowns that day) was busy “pummeling De Anza College 60–7” so he missed some of the #takeaknee controversy that occurred over the weekend. But Davis said he would kneel during the national anthem. “Not to piss anybody off, though, just to support my kind.”

While he appreciates the way that politics has entered the sports world, he thinks it’s important for those in power to remember that football is a game. “There’s a lot of people that made it from nowhere, and they just want to play the game,” he said, “but they have to worry about getting fired or suspended from games just for something that they strongly believe in.”

His dad taught him that believing in something is an important part of life. He used to say “you gotta stand for something or you’ll fall for anything.” Davis’ dad is a vital role model in his life. He said his dad completely changed his life for him, put a football in his crib when he was a baby, and said his son would grow up to play.

Sarah Carpenter is the Editor-in-Chief at the Laney Tower. Email her at SarahisaCarpenter(at)gmail.com.