As National Signing Day approached, White Hall senior running back Kylon Davis got a last-second text message that revived his dream of playing college football.
“A couple weeks ago, I had gotten turned down by a college,” Davis said. “I was really trying to give up on the sport. Then, out of nowhere, the Evangel coach text me and was like, he liked the way that I played. Then he said, ‘Can we get you up here on a visit?'”
One visit was all Davis needed, and he signed with Evangel University on Wednesday during a ceremony in the WHHS library.
Evangel is an Assemblies of God-affiliated school in Springfield, Missouri. The Valor plays at the NAIA level in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference against mostly Kansas-based competition.
White Hall coach Daryl Patton said Evangel is getting a player with a great work ethic in Davis.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“He’s a very talented kid, multi-dimensional,” Patton said. “He can catch a ball, which, they like to throw the ball to running backs. He’s a good zone runner. That’s what they like to run, the zone. They’ll run some gap-scheme, as well, which, he’s a good gap-scheme power, downhill runner. So, he’s a young man that I think can go in there as a true freshman and earn some minutes.”
Evangel has enjoyed success in recent seasons, winning at least seven games each of the past three years. The Valor went 8-2 last year after going 11-1 in 2023, with the lone defeat coming in the NAIA playoffs.
This past season, Evangel rushed for 200.2 yards per game with its leading rusher, a junior, rushing for 1,077 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Davis said Evangel’s offense appealed to him.
“When I was with the offensive coach, they a run-heavy team, and he told me that he think I perfectly fit his offense,” Davis said. “So, when I get up there, I’m a just grind, and still trust in God. When the time come for me to make the plays and stuff, I’ll make the plays.”
Davis took over as White Hall’s top ballcarrier after Jayden Smith signed with Ouachita Baptist a year ago. Davis rushed for 652 yards on 154 carries as a senior and scored 10 touchdowns. He also caught 13 passes for 111 yards.
Patton said other schools were recruiting Davis but were asking him to wait before signing, a risk he said isn’t worth taking. He said the introduction of the transfer portal to college football has made it more difficult for high school recruits such as Davis to find a home. Those that do, he said, are often going to a lower level than they would have before the portal.
“I feel for the seniors, nationally, coming out of high school,” Patton said. “The portal has been good in a lot of ways, but it’s bad for high school seniors, because those spots are being taken by the portal kids. … With Evangel, they’re an NAIA school. Very, very good football program in Springfield. To have him be able to go there and play and continue his education, it’s a positive.”