Better Know A Badger: Julius Davis
Wisconsin's 2019 signing class will be moving up to Madison in June, so BadgerBlitz.com reached out to the newest members of the UW roster to get their thoughts as they prepare to start their college careers.
Julis Davis, a three-star running back from Menomonee Falls, Wis., spoke with BadgerBlitz.com earlier this week about how he's feeling now that his career at Wisconsin is about to start. Our questions and his answers are included below.
The recruiting process can take a long time and have a lot of twists and turns. How did it feel for you to wrap things up and officially send in your letter of intent to the Badgers back on Signing Day?
Julius Davis: It was relieving, because like you were saying the recruiting process was all over the place. There are coaches all over trying to sell their program to you. It’s like they’re texting you every day to try and catch up with you - it’s stressful trying to figure out which school is the right fit and which one is just trying to get you to come there. It was definitely a relief to send in the letter of intent and officially become a Badger.
It's no secret that Wisconsin doesn't always offer in-state running backs - did getting that offer stand out to you when they decided to pull the trigger in that sense?
Julius Davis: Before my recruiting process even started my dad asked me about colleges and where I would want to go and I said Wisconsin, and he said, "Well, you know you’re going to have to work ten times harder because Wisconsin usually doesn’t usually recruit in-state skill positions, it’s usually linemen or linebackers or something." When he told me that it pushed me to work harder and get better, and once I got the offer I was happy about it - it brought in other offers as well to show people that Wisconsin does have athletes, too.
What was it about Wisconsin that made them stand out from the pack to you? Was it the running back tradition - or did you grow up a Badger fan and watching the games?
Julius Davis: I grew up a Badger fan, and so I know the history of running backs that they have. I knew that they have really good academics too so that if football doesn’t work out you can always have the education to fall back on. Graduating from UW-Madison with that degree is something different, it gives you a little edge on some other schools. It’s also a great football school - I’ve been to a couple of games and I just loved the atmosphere there and the people there. I knew if I got that offer it was an automatic
"go" for me.
When you have a school like Wisconsin that really stands out from the pack from the start was it hard to keep an open mind in the recruiting process? Did you have to separate yourself a little bit in order to make the right decision?
Julius Davis: In the beginning I did try to approach it with an open mind. My dad wanted me to keep an open mind about everything and that if I wanted to commit somewhere to make sure that that is where I actually wanted to go and that I wasn’t going to be de-committing like some guys from the south who will commit and then de-commit. My dad didn’t want me to do anything like that. He said if you’re going to commit somewhere then that’s where you’re going. Once I got the Wisconsin offer I was like, "Yeah there are other schools, but this one is close to home, a great tradition for my position, a great education, so I knew this was the place for me."
Who was your favorite Wisconsin running back to watch when you were growing up? Did you try and pattern yourself after any of the guys you got to see play for UW over the years?
Julius Davis: Before Jonathan Taylor I would probably say Melvin Gordon. All the running backs were really good, but I think it was Melvin Gordon because he was from Wisconsin. To see somebody from our own state do big things like that was definitely inspiring. I enjoyed watching him play.
When you were watching those games - either from home or at the stadium before you became a recruit - did you ever have an inkling that you would have a chance to go out and play in Camp Randall, too?
Julius Davis: It was a dream, but I never knew it was going to happen because Wisconsin usually recruits out of state players for my position. Growing up my dad was from Texas and he played in Texas so he knew what it took to get to the next level and he helped me get the tools to do what I wanted to do. Having the opportunity to be as good as I am now with a chance to get better is a blessing.
What do you think you'll take away from your high school career? Are there any lessons there that you think you learned that will help you in college?
Julius Davis: The transition from middle school to high school taught me a lot. In middle school you can have those one players who are the dominant player - you can give the ball to him all the time and he will score all of the touchdowns for you. But once you move to high school, my dad always said, "If you’re trying to play on varsity, everyone’s going to be just as big or bigger and just as fast or faster." That kind of stuck with me and I think it will stick with me in college, too, because they’re all going to be 19, 20, 21, 22 years old - so with me coming in at 18 years old I’m going to need to get stronger and faster so I can compete with the older guys.
Do you have any goals for yourself for your first year in Madison? Or is it too early to start thinking about anything specific like that?
Julius Davis: I’m very competitive. My goal is that I do want to play right away, no matter how many games it is. I just want to get a taste of the game and see what the game speed is like in college. My goal is to get some playing time so I can get the playbook down, and then (I want to) at least rush for 500 yards. I just want to get that base for myself - once Jonathan Taylor is gone a spot is going to be open for everybody. I want to be prepared for any workload they give me.
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John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.