Providence Day QB Jadyn Davis wins NC Mr. Football for the second straight season
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Providence Day’s Jadyn Davis is the best high school football player in North Carolina — again.
Davis, 18, has been named N.C. Mr. Football for the 2023 season by The Charlotte Observer and News & Observer of Raleigh. The state’s biggest high school football award is sponsored by Deer Park Water, and the company will provide Davis with a trophy and a banner for his school to hang in its gym.
Davis also won the award in 2022. He will play in the All-American Bowl in January, a nationally-televised game on NBC that is the nation’s No. 1 postseason high school football all-star game.
“It was special, just being blessed enough to win the award last year,” Davis said on the newspapers’ Talking Preps high school show Tuesday night. “It’s always harder to stay on top of the mountain and being (a winner) again this year, I think is just a true testament to my work ethic and how I view myself and my teammates. I wouldn’t be here without my teammates, and (head) coach (Chad) Grier and the whole (Providence Day) coaching staff. I’m just really appreciative of this honor because it really is an honor.”
Providence Day’s Michigan-bound five-star quarterback hopes for championship, legacy
Davis, a senior quarterback committed to Michigan, is the first repeat winner of the award, which is in its fifth year. The Providence Day quarterback has been under intense scrutiny since he was in middle school and got scholarship offers from Georgia and Alabama.
But since transferring from Catawba Ridge High in Fort Mill, Davis has led the Chargers to back-to-back N.C. Independent Schools state championships as a junior and a senior. Providence Day’s record in those two seasons is 24-2.
In his two years at Providence Day, Davis threw for 6,795 yards and 86 touchdowns. in his career, including his time at Catawba Ridge, Davis has thrown for 9,366 yards and 111 touchdowns. He ends his career in the top 20, all-time, of nearly every Mecklenburg County all-time passing records list, and Davis moved past former Independence star Joe Cox into fourth place in career yardage behind Independence’s Anthony Carrothers (10,775), Davidson Day’s Will Grier (14,465) and Independence’s Chris Leak (15,593).
Davis is ranked among the nation’s top 10 recruits at quarterback in the class of 2024.
“He’s dealt with (pressure) since eighth grade,” Providence Day coach Chad Grier said of Davis. “He’s got a thick skin, but he’s still a young person. He’s got this self expectation to be the best on the field and everybody else has that expectation, too.”
This season, Davis threw for 3,370 yards and 43 touchdowns in 13 games, with nine interceptions. He completed more than 70 percent of his passes. He also helped the nationally-ranked Chargers avenge their only loss of the season in the state championship game.
In that state final, Providence Day was playing nationally-ranked Rabun Gap (GA), a team that has played in the NC private school league for years. At the time, Rabun Gap was ranked No. 1 in MaxPreps poll of all public and private NC teams after upsetting then No. 1 Providence Day in the regular season.
Davis helped his team rally from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit, scoring two touchdowns to win the state title, 34-27.
In addition, Davis threw for 456 yards and five touchdowns in a historic season-opening win over S.C. 4A public school power Rock Hill Northwestern. The regionally televised game drew more than 10,000 fans and was the first-ever high school game played at Bank of America Stadium, home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. In September, he threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns and was named player of the game when Providence Day beat Charlotte Catholic in a game that was televised nationally by ESPNU.
“I’m not a very big individual accolade guy,” Davis said. “But I’m not going to sit here and act like it doesn’t mean anything to win this award back-to-back because of all the great players who came before me. To be the first (back-to-back winner)...among all those great players and individuals (is) a true blessing, and something I’m extremely grateful for and humbled by.”
Previous Winners
2020: Henry Rutledge, Charlotte Christian
Spring 2021: Daylan Smothers, Chambers
Fall 2021: Omarion Hampton, Cleveland
2022: Jadyn Davis, Providence Day
2023: Jadyn Davis, Providence Day
2024 Watchlist
A look at our “way too early” watchlist for potential 2024 Mr. Football finalists
