MONTGOMERY, Ala. — One week after the starting quarterback and his backup were injured, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff turned to a true freshman for the season finale.
Garrison Davis showed a glimpse of what the future may hold for UAPB at quarterback in the Golden Lions’ 44-13 loss to Alabama State at ASU Stadium in Montgomery, Ala., on Saturday.
Davis said he learned midway through the week he would start against Alabama State (9-2, 7-1 SWAC).
“I was grateful and thankful to be able to lead this team,” Davis said. “I’m truly blessed for this university giving me an opportunity. I know it didn’t come out the way we wanted it to, but be ready to go next year, for sure.”
The Jackson, Miss., native beat out senior Tysan Robbins and redshirt freshman Landon Holcomb for the opportunity to start.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Graduate transfer Christian Peters, who had started every game this season until Saturday, was injured on UAPB’s opening drive last week against Prairie View A&M. Backup DJ Stevenson was then injured in the fourth quarter. Robbins finished last week’s game after Stevenson’s injury.
UAPB (4-8, 2-6) coach Alonzo Hampton said Davis won the right to start because of the way he worked in practice.
“Not that Tysan doesn’t work,” Hampton said. “But Garrison Davis came in in the spring; he commanded our offense. He understands what we’re doing, and he has a lot of confidence. He’s killing us on scout team. He’s throwing balls in tight spots, so I knew it.”
Hampton referenced Davis joining the team in time for spring practice as an early enrollee after graduating high school in December. He was the first high school recruit Hampton brought to UAPB who enrolled early.
Davis said enrolling early helped his development, and he said learning from the older quarterbacks prepared him to start on Saturday.
“Without those guys, I wouldn’t have been able to do it,” Davis said. “The older guys, they just always poured into me. They never were selfish or anything like that, so I just soaked it up. When I got my opportunity, I just came out with it.”
UAPB got the ball to start the game, and Davis led a touchdown drive to give UAPB an early 7-0 lead. He completed a 32-yard pass to redshirt freshman D’Avery Robinson during the drive before finishing it with a 3-yard touchdown run.
Davis completed 13 of 20 passes for 86 yards while rushing 13 times for 48 yards and a touchdown. The incompletions included one where the 5-foot-11 quarterback had a pass batted down at the line of scrimmage and another where the receiver got entangled with the referee.
This was his first full game, though he completed 1 of 2 passes for 9 yards and carried the ball four times for 23 yards and a touchdown during the homecoming win against Westgate Christian.
His numbers against ASU came in a game in which Hampton said he needed to be careful with a true freshman making his first start on the road against a team tied for first in the SWAC East. The Golden Lions leaned on the run game and rushed for 226 yards, a season-high against SWAC competition.
Hampton has spoken highly of Davis since he first arrived on campus.
“He’s been in the offense,” Hampton said. “He understands where the ball needs to go. This young man has a bright future ahead of him. He knows we’ll go out and recruit some more quarterbacks, but they gonna have to beat him out.”
Peters is out of eligibility, but Stevenson has one year left after sitting behind Peters and Mekhi Hagens the past two seasons.
Davis joins a list of promising young Lions whom Hampton has signed.
Robinson, who led UAPB’s receivers against ASU, finished the season as the team’s leading receiver with 548 yards and four touchdowns. True freshman Ellis Stewart scored a team-leading six touchdowns and was third in yards with 339.
True freshman running back Bryant Sanchez finished behind Peters and junior running back Jaylen Jennings as the team’s third-leading rusher with 231 yards. His 6.2 yards per carry were best on the team among players with more than three carries.
Zay Stribling, a true freshman cornerback, led the team with three interceptions while playing alongside sophomore corners Amyrion Mingo and Zach Williams. True freshman Nick Carter played significant time at offensive line.
Hampton said those young players have set a solid foundation from which the program can continue to build.
“It’s just so many of those guys that’s doing a really good job for us,” Hampton said. “We’ve done a really good job of recruiting those guys. When you see the quarterback practice, you’ll know why we put him in there first, because he has ‘it.'”