Coach Davis takes the PGFB reins at Hargrave.
By Damien Sordelett
This article is reprinted online with permission from the Danville Register & Bee. “Troy Davis Ready for Opportunity to Lead Hargrave Post-Grad Football” first appeared February 3, 2010 in the Danville Register & Bee. Damien Sordelett is a Danville Register & Bee sports writer.
CHATHAM — It didn’t take long for the moment to sink in for Troy Davis on Wednesday. While National Signing Day is nothing new to Hargrave Military Academy, it was Davis’ first as the new football coach of one of the top prep schools in the country.
Davis was unexpectedly handed the reigns to Hargrave’s post-graduate football program following Robert Prunty’s resignation last week to become the defensive line coach at Texas Tech University.
“I’ve been in a transition like this here before where the job I’ve been at the coach has decided to leave,” Davis said. “The main key to this is the transition as far how the kids respond to it and letting them know, ‘Hey, the next guy coming in is pretty much going to do it his way.’”
Davis spent the past season as Prunty’s assistant coach and was heavily involved with how the program runs in terms of high school students making the transition to the post-graduate program and then dealing with college scouts looking for that diamond in the rough.
He also served as offensive and defensive coordinator and admissions counselor in his three previous seasons with Hargrave. He served as the defensive coordinator under Prunty during the 2008 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
“What I will bring to the table to this program here, I will bring the consistency,” Davis said. “I will still continue to try to recruit your four-stars and your five-star players. I also want to reach out to the local high schools and I want the kids to have the opportunity to come out and try out. I think I have a lot of resources to where coaches want to come down, sit down with me and pick my brain about X’s and O’s. My door is always open to them. Once again, I just enjoy coaching.”
Among several stops as a head coach on the high school level, Davis spent several years as St. Francis University as the team’s defensive coordinator. He also was a linebackers coach and defensive line coach. His most recent job prior to Hargrave was as the head coach at Cape Coral High School in Cape Coral, Fla.
Davis was a linebacker on Penn State’s 1986 national championship team which defeated Miami in the Fiesta Bowl. He also played in the 1985 Orange Bowl against Oklahoma and in the 1987 Citrus Bowl against Clemson. While at Penn State, Davis was coached by current Indianapolis Colts’ head coach Jim Caldwell.
“I’m open to helping anyone,” Davis said. “Chatham and Gretna have a long-time history of good football players up to Lynchburg and Roanoke. I know it’s there. It’s just a matter of the community, along with the kids and the coaches, getting involved.
“I am going to be reaching out to the high school coaches and asking them how can I help with their kids and we’ll take it from there,” Davis added.
Banks heads to West Virginia: Hargrave Military Academy post-graduate athlete Ishmael Banks signed his National Letter of Intent with West Virginia on Wednesday, the first signee under new coach Troy Davis.
“I just love the campus,” Banks said. “I’ve been up there my sophomore year (of high school) for a team camp and I fell in love with it. I liked the coaching staff. I heard Bill Stewart is a real good guy, real easy to work with and I kind of fell in love with (the campus).”
Banks, a 6-foot, 185-pound defensive back, is the third-rated post-grad defensive back by Rivals.com and the 23rd-ranked post-grad prospect. He is rated a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and a two-star talent by Scout.com.
He was also offered scholarships by Western Kentucky, Marshall, Kent State and Georgia State.
“West Virginia’s got an outstanding football program,” Davis said. “(Banks is) an outstanding student and a good, pure cover corner that’s really going to do good things there.”
