West Lauderdale senior quarterback Austin Davidson attempts to stiff-arm a Kemper County defender during their game earlier this season.

When asked whether or not he wishes he played high school football sooner, Austin Davidson can’t help but be honest.

“I do wish I would have,” Davidson admitted.

Better late than never. Davidson, a senior who is a standout on the Knights’ baseball team, remembers attending every West Lauderdale football game last fall and getting the itch to play. He wanted to be a part of the Friday night lights atmosphere, and he had talked to people older than him who told him they either missed playing high school football or regretted not ever having played.

Fast forward to now, and Davidson is West Lauderdale’s starting quarterback on a team that currently sits at 6-1 on the season, 1-0 in Region 5-4A. Even though it will be his only year of high school football, Davidson said he’s cherishing every second of it.

“It’s probably one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” Davidson said.

Head coach Brock Clay remembers Davidson coming out to spring football practice after West Lauderdale’s baseball team was eliminated in the postseason. After a few days, Davidson approached Clay in the parking lot with an odd request.

“He said, ‘I need to get hit. I haven’t had contact since the fifth grade,’” Clay recalled.

Davidson had played pee wee football from the third grade through the sixth grade, though an injury sidelined him during his sixth-grade year. If he was going to give high school football a try, Davidson said he might as well get used to being tackled, so Clay paired him up with sophomore linebacker Zach Walker in one-on-one drills.

“One of the hardest hitters on the team,” Davidson stressed. “I knew if I wanted to play I’d have to be physical and prove to them I could take a hit.”

And Walker admitted he wanted to hit the rookie as hard as he could.

“That was his first time going one-on-one with someone that wasn’t a quarterback, and I was impressed,” Walker said. “I thought he was good for his first time.”

Clay agreed.

“He didn’t win, but he didn’t exactly lose, so that impressed us,” Clay said.

In West Lauderdale’s spring game, Clay decided to let the quarterbacks get hit instead of having them wear non-contact jerseys, furthering Davidson’s acclimation to the game. There were other adjustments Davidson was able to make in a short amount of time.

“It took a little while for him to get acclimated to the speed of the  game,” Clay said. “We definitely knew he had potential to be a really good quarterback, but putting it all together at any one time, he did that faster than we could imagine.”

It was at EMCC’s summer camp in July when things fully began to click, Davidson said. 

“I felt comfortable throwing and with all of the plays and formations,” Davidson said. “Plus, I had a lot to prove, because that was the week they were going to determine the starters.”

Ultimately, Davidson edged out Eli Bryan for the job, though Clay stressed that Bryan has made great strides in his development, and the staff would be more than comfortable starting Bryan under center should something happen to Davidson.

“Eli’s progression along with Austin’s has given us a luxury I’ve never experienced as a coach before,” Clay said.

While Davidson is quick to credit his coaches and his teammates for the team’s success, Clay said Davidson deserves a lot of credit for the Knights’ 6-1 start as well.

“He has the ‘it’ factor,” Clay said. “He can throw and run, and he’s smart enough to take what you give him.”

Walker also said Davidson has made a big difference on the team, and having Davidson start at quarterback gives the defense another important player.

“Eli wouldn’t be playing defense for us if he was playing quarterback,” Walker explained.

While he’s enjoyed the experience, Davidson admitted there was a moment he wondered what he had gotten himself into: During the Knights’ jamboree game against Philadelphia, a defense end came around unblocked and hit Davidson helmet-to-helmet. It resulted in a 15-yard penalty for the Tornadoes, but it left Davidson with quite an impression.

“I was like, ‘So this is high school football,’” Davidson said.

Compared to baseball, Davidson said football is a much more physically taxing sport.

“You might get hit by a baseball, but it doesn’t compare to getting hit 10 times a game,” Davidson said. “After the Greene County game (in Week 1) is the worst I’ve ever felt after a game. I ran it like 22 times, or somewhere around that number.”

One curious thing about Davidson that West Lauderdale fans might find funny is the fact that only three letters separate his name from that of Tennessee Titans quarterback Austin Davis, who played at West Lauderdale and Southern Miss. 

“We’ve joked about it as a staff, but I’ve never heard it said around here (otherwise),” Clay said.

Davidson said there isn’t much chatter about it as well, though there was one incident when he and his dad went to the Piggly Wiggly in Collinsville, when someone mistook him for Davis and his father for Davis’ dad.

“I was like, ‘How did they do that?’” Davidson said with a chuckle.

Davidson and the rest of the Knights will face off against Northeast Jones Friday at home.