Multi-sport athlete from class of 2023, Ethan Davis, picking up steam with football recruitment

Ethan Davis didn’t even play football his sophomore season of high school, and yet his recruitment on the gridiron continues to expand.

Doubling as a star basketball player for Collins Hill High School down in Suwanee, GA, Davis skipped the spring football season this past year as he excelled on the hardwood instead. Basketball scholarships from the likes of Ole Miss, Georgia, and Georgia Tech have already made it his way with the Rebels actively recruiting him the hardest to play hoops at the next level. Davis has spent the majority of his life playing basketball.

However, Davis did participate in 7-on-7 football and a Spring Game scrimmage after the conclusion of the COVID-affected spring football season. Davis said he recorded three catches for 100 yards and a touchdown in the Spring Game while thriving in 7-on-7. After making such an impressive statement on the field, programs had no choice but to take a closer look.

Kentucky was one of those schools. Associate head coach Vince Marrow was the one who extended an offer to Davis, a 6-foot-6, 210-pound wide receiver from the class of 2023. That offer came through on Tuesday and the ‘Cats were hardly alone in doing so–Georgia Tech and Ole Miss did the same. LSU offered Davis the day before and Texas extended its scholarship earlier on Wednesday.

#AGTG
Blessed to receive an offer from The University of Kentucky. Go Wildcats💙🤍 @coachTWoff @thekuff16 @_Coach_Williams @HayHay_50 @GregoryLenny @BLinnell2 @CoachEarl_ pic.twitter.com/0NX6PilmxG

— ethan davis (@davis1ethan) May 25, 2021

Even as his stock continues to boom, Davis was not expecting to hear from Kentucky so quickly. It was a bit of a shock to him. The next step is building a relationship with Coach Marrow and the rest of the staff once in-person recruiting opens back up in June.

“No, I did not expect that at all. That was kinda out of nowhere,” Davis told KSR about the offer from UK. “Kentucky being in the SEC, that’s a pretty big deal. That definitely got me excited, I was definitely happy about that. Now the coaches are following me on Twitter and all that so I’m hoping to build a relationship whenever we get a chance to contact each other.”

Coming from a basketball background, Davis is understandably not as familiar with Kentucky Football as he is with the allure of Kentucky Basketball. His older brother is actually close friends with B.J. Boston and it’s allowed Davis to get to know a few of the members from this past season’s squad.

“Not really much,” Davis said about what he knew about Kentucky Football prior to the offer. “I know a lot of people on the basketball team because B.J. (Boston) and my brother are real close, so I know a lot of the basketball guys at Kentucky. But I’ve never really been in the football side of it because I used to not watch college football but now I do. So I’ve heard a little bit about Kentucky and their program and I know it’s a great program to be in.”

Playing both basketball and football has had its benefits, too. Considering Davis is now up to 6-foot-6, he uses his knack for rebounding in basketball to help make contested catches in football.

“Going up to catch a pass is basically the same thing as going to get a rebound in basketball,” Davis said. “They all kind of stack up together and make me a better player on the court and on the field.”

Davis is bound to be a high-level prospect in both sports by the time he plays out his junior season. The offer sheets from basketball and football would indicate he’s a star on the rise, no matter which sport he chooses. In fact, there’s a hope he could play both at the college level.

“Right now the plan is to plan both in college,” Davis added. “So if Kentucky Basketball extends that offer, obviously that would be a big deal. So yes the plan right now is to play both in college but you never know. That could change and I could go straight for football or straight for basketball.”

He doesn’t have any unofficial visits or camp dates scheduled at the moment, but Davis did say that he plans on attending a camp at Mercer University on June 1 that he hopes will get more football programs on his radar. With the football season returning to the fall this year, Davis plans to focus on that first before turning his attention to basketball in the winter.