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You’ve heard it from you soccer friends before: “If we had our best athletes playing soccer instead of football or basketball, we would be unstoppable at the World Cup.”
It looks like it could finally be happening. Or, at least, starting to happen. Drake Davis, a highly coveted four-star wide receiver from Baton Rouge Louisiana could be the first notable athlete to drop American football for futbol. The 6’4" Davis has offers from some of America’s best college football programs, including Alabama, Florida State, Miami, Virginia Tech and other great schools. But all these schools may have to forget about their dreams of seeing Davis in their colors. The 4th ranked receiver in the nation among the 2016 class, according to Rivals.com, opted to swap his football cleats for futbol boots… for now.
Still only a junior in high school, Davis decided in the spring that he was going to focus on using his feet as opposed to his hands this fall. It is still possible that he could return to the gridiron his senior year, and he does seem interested in Florida State after attending their camp.
Last spring, Fork Union head football coach Brian Hurlocker told 247Sports.com, “This is a decision he made in the spring and he’s stuck with it. I don’t push the kid to play. It’s his decision. He’s a good kid and a good athlete.”
Davis’s Twitter handle is @AU79_ and his profile image is currently a picture of him playing soccer. He tweets frequently about soccer, among other things, regarding his recruitment for football. Davis even wears soccer cleats while he plays football.
Drake Davis' Twitter profile image shows him on the soccer pitch, not the gridiron. (Photo: @AU79_ | Twitter)
So, we'll have to wait to see if he sticks with it. In April, Davis spoke about traveling to Spain for a Barcelona soccer camp, but some still think he hasn’t completely dropped football.
Either way, it is a situation becoming more common. With increasing awareness about the danger of concussions in football, perhaps more athletes will switch to futbol. Yes, soccer has concussion issues as well, but the issue is much more pronounced in American football.
If David decided to play soccer, he won't be the first notable college athlete to switch sports. Tim Howard had scholarship offers for basketball, but chose to play soccer. And, it seems to have worked out well for him. One thing is for sure, it will be exciting to watch Drake Davis whether on the pitch or the gridiron.
