Tight end Vernon Davis speaks to Morgan Hill Raiders Junior Pee
Wees as team prepares for season-finale
n By Jimmy Durkin Sports Editor
Morgan Hill – San Francisco 49ers rookie tight end Vernon Davis once quit playing Pop Warner football because he didn’t like the feeling of being enclosed in a helmet.
When he started playing again in eighth grade, he played an entire season wearing tennis shoes.
By the time he was a sophomore in high school, the big and speedy Davis, who returned to the sport because of his intense “desire to play,” was being recruited by every school in the country and in April he was selected by the Niners as the sixth overall pick in the National Football League draft.
That story was among the pearls of wisdom that Davis shared with members of the Morgan Hill Raiders Junior Pee Wee football team after their practice Tuesday.
“It didn’t come easy,” Davis told the engaged group of youngsters. “I had to work for it. You’ve got to prepare. You’ve got to want to be the best.”
The Raiders are preparing for the regular season finale against Almaden this weekend and are looking to snap a three-game losing streak and secure a playoff spot.
Davis asked the kids to provide reasons for their recent defeats and told them they have to play hard and hustle if they want to get back in the win column.
“The one thing the coaches want to see you do is hustle,” Davis said. “Ya’ll gotta go and continue to play hard. It’s not going to happen if ya’ll don’t continue to play hard.”
Davis fielded a broad range of questions from the players, ranging from the status of his injury (he said the broken bone in his leg in healing well and he hopes to play in two weeks) to which is his least favorite team in the NFL.
“The Raiders,” he replied, intentionally drawing the ire of the contingent of Oakland Raiders fans on the team.
When asked who his least favorite teammate was, Davis told them he liked all of them and “the only way I wouldn’t like them is if they didn’t hustle.”
After some persuading from the kids, Davis eventually was convinced to perform his scene from the Under Armour commercial in which he stars.
“Haven’t you guys already seen the commercial?” he asked before giving in to their demands and reciting the click clack slogan that the sports apparel company uses in its commercials.
Davis later posed for photos with the kids, and even with some parents, before signing autographs and said he enjoyed the opportunity to speak.
“Whenever I hear the word kids and doing stuff for kids, I’m all about that,” Davis said. “I remember when I was a kid and I would’ve loved for someone to come out and talk to me like this. It’s a big help and there’s nothing like it.”
