Ex-FIU assistant coach Drew Davis thriving at his new post at St. Thomas University

When Drew Davis was about 10 years old, he would often fold towels and help wash and dry the uniforms of the Cleveland Browns players.

Davis would also watch video of college football players, making notes on which prospects he thought the Browns should draft. He would then relay that information to his father, Butch Davis, who was the Browns’ coach from 2001 to 2004.

Fast forward two decades and Drew Davis, now 30, is still all about football. He’s in his second season as an assistant coach at St. Thomas University, directing the Bobcats’ wide receivers and tight ends.

Davis’ recruiting area is Broward County, and he said he helped bring in 20 players last year. In addition, he was a key factor in bringing in four FIU transfers: defensive lineman Jeremy Moore; linebacker Nasir Carter; and defensive backs Jesson Walker and Deuce Dunbar.

There’s a reason for that recruiting success, according to his father.

“My son loves football and has unbelievable passion and enthusiasm,” Butch Davis said. “He cares. He wants his players to be successful, and the high school coaches and parents of the players know he will take care of their kids.”

In his playing days, Drew Davis was a star quarterback at East Chapel Hill High School in North Carolina. He then served as a backup QB at the University of Mississippi.

After his playing career was over, he coached FIU’s tight ends, under the direction of his father, from 2017 to 2021.

During that span, Davis helped FIU earn invitations to bowl games in three straight years, and he helped developed tight end Rivaldo Fairweather, who now starts for Auburn University.

However, after his father’s contract was not renewed beyond 2021, Drew Davis was unemployed.

But, as fate would have it, Davis was invited to a golf tournament, where he was paired with St. Thomas University president David A. Armstrong, J.D., who played college football and was a long-time Browns season-ticket holder.

“It took no more than 30 seconds to know that (Armstrong) and I are cut from the same cloth,” Drew Davis said. “We have the same core values.”

Davis soon got a job offer from STU coach Bill Rychel. Davis said he also had an offer to serve as an assistant at a Division I school.

Instead, Davis chose STU, an NAIA program.

“I wanted to be a part of something special,” Davis said when asked why he chose the Bobcats, who started their football program in 2019. “In four short years, this has become an elite place and another avenue for local kids to chase their degree and play football.”

In his first season with the team, the Bobcats – who are an NAIA program -- finished 9-2.

This season, the Bobcats (7-3) are on a four-game winning streak as they approached Saturday’s regular-season finale at noon against visiting Thomas.

The Bobcats, ranked 17^th in the nation, are hoping to get an at-large berth to the postseason, which would be a first in program history.

STU has played a tough schedule. At the NAIA level, they have lost 21-14 to sixth-ranked Keiser; they beat 16^th-ranked Texas Wesleyan, 38-20; and they lost to 12^th-ranked Carroll, 26-23. They also lost 34-33 at Stetson, an NCAA Division I FCS squad.

Butch Davis, who turns 72 on Nov. 17, has seen all of those games. He visits practice usually once a week and sits in the coaches’ box on game days, offering occasional advice to Rychel.

“I’ve made myself available if the coaches have questions,” Butch Davis said of his help at STU. “Every now and again, I’ll see something, but it’s been minimal.”

Meanwhile, Drew Davis is very involved at STU -- just ask Bobcats wide receivers David Hayes and C’Quan Jnopierre.

Hayes, a 6-4, 180-pounder from Tampa, said he has formed a bond with Davis.

“He’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever encountered,” Hayes said. “We were already locked in as soon as I met him.

“Coach Drew knows how to put himself in someone else’s shoes. He’s always available anytime I need him, whether it’s about school, football or something else.”

Jnopierre, a 5-11, 180-pounder from Fort Lauderdale High, said Davis has helped him with the mechanics of playing wide receiver.

“He taught me how to read defenses,” Jnopierre said. “He taught me different moves to get by defenders.”

Rychel said he’s pleased with Davis’ contribution to the program.

“He’s done a fantastic job recruiting Broward,” Rychel said. “As a coach, he’s been even more impactful in his second year with us.”