The Long County Blue Tide football program certainly have a lot to be proud of with so many of their former players performing well at the college level. One of those players that is playing especially well this year is Jamin Davis, a redshirt junior linebacker at the University of Kentucky.
Coming into the 2020 season, Davis totaled 42 tackles and two interceptions in two seasons for the Wildcats. In just four games this year, he is just seven tackles short of matching his tackle total and has already matched his previous career interception total. In Saturday’s 34-7 win over the University of Tennessee, Kentucky’s first in Knoxville since 1984, Davis had a huge game, leading the team with a career-high 12 tackles and also made the biggest play of the season and of his three-year stint in Lexington.
Wildcats defensive Kelvin Joseph had just returned an interception off Volunteer quarterback Jarrett Guarantano 41 yards for a score. The Volunteers were in Wildcats’ territory before Guarantano’s pass was intercepted again, this time by Davis at the 15.
Davis broke open a long return down the sideline for the 85-yard interception return. This is Davis’s second straight game with an interception, pulling one down last week against Mississippi State in a 24-2 victory.
Anyone who watched Davis play for the Blue Tide during his high school career will know how hard he worked and he always had high goals and expectations for himself.
“Just like I said before leaving Long County High, you can’t have a million dollar dream with a minimum wage work ethic,” Davis said in a Twitter message.
After recording 23 tackles and two interceptions over the last two games, Davis is bound to start getting looks from NFL teams. However, Davis is focused on helping his team get better and winning games.
“Honestly, I don’t worry much about all of that right now,” Davis said. “I just focus on what’s best for me and the team and the rest will happen later on.”
Another motivating factor for Davis and the rest of the Wildcat defense is linebacker Chris Oats. Oats was hospitalized in May with a still undisclosed medical emergency and has yet to be able to return to the team. Since then, the defense has rallied around him with a different player wearing his number 22 jersey each game. Davis wore the jersey in last week’s win over Mississippi State.
“I looked at him as a brother the second he stepped on campus and it was extremely unfortunate to see him go down. I knew that it meant me and the fellow linebackers had to produce that much more this year,” Davis said.
It has certainly been a great season so far for Davis and with six games still to play, who knows what the former Blue Tide star will be able to accomplish.