Kennedy Grad Rashied Davis Takes Hard Road to Football Scholarship

From the “That’s Incredible” file comes the story of Rashied Davis, a junior wide receiver at San Jose State.

Coaches at Kennedy High remember Davis. They put him on their All-Lunch team.

“He was first in line for lunch-time basketball every day,” football Coach Bob Francola said.

Students in Kennedy’s physical education classes remember Davis. For six semesters, he took regular P.E.

“I was the man,” Davis said. “I never lost a game in P.E.”

There are no newspaper clippings, no home videos, not even a letterman’s jacket revealing any information about Davis’ high school athletic career.

That’s because Davis never played a single down of varsity football, or any other varsity sport at Kennedy. His athletic experience consisted of a sophomore year when he played freshman-sophomore football, junior varsity basketball and ran track. He then vanished from the sports scene--except for P.E. class and lunch-time basketball.

After graduating from Kennedy in 1997, Davis hung around his house near the Coliseum pondering his future.

“I felt like a loser sitting around, no school, no job,” he said.

He used to brag to friends that he could compete in sports if he wanted to. But truth be told, Davis was afraid.

“I was so small I had doubts in my head,” he said. “I never really applied myself. I was scared of failure.”

In the spring of 1998, he enrolled at West L.A. College. A cousin phoned him one morning and told him, “Let’s go.”

They signed up for football. By the first game, Davis was in the starting lineup. For two years at West L.A., he caught passes and returned kickoffs and punts. He was one of the team’s hardest workers and a dedicated weightlifter.

At 5 feet 10 and 175 pounds, he was still small, but his speed and athleticism made him a dangerous offensive threat. Last season, he caught 32 passes for 562 yards with six touchdowns and averaged 26.2 yards per kickoff return.

“My body has absorbed many big hits,” he said. “I can take it.”

Coach Dave Baldwin of San Jose State was viewing West L.A. game films, scouting another receiver, when he saw Davis making play after play.

“This kid kept showing up,” Baldwin said. “I fell in love with him.”

Baldwin offered Davis a scholarship. He enrolled in January and won a starting position during spring football practice.

Come Sept. 23, when San Jose State plays USC at the Coliseum, Davis will be in uniform playing in front of family, friends and maybe his old P.E. buddies from Kennedy.

“I’m inviting anyone who wants to see me play,” Davis said. “I’ll be wearing No. 8.”

Said Baldwin: “It’s an unbelievable story. You think, ‘This guy hasn’t played high school football, where is he coming from?’ I think he realized, ‘I’m going to do this.’ ”

Davis looks back at his lost opportunity in high school and is thankful he decided to give football a second chance.

“I would have been kicking myself for the rest of my life if I didn’t try,” he said. “My mom is so happy and proud.”

Davis’ brother, Mavery, isn’t making the same mistake. He’s a junior playing football at Kennedy.

Davis’ athletic skills are improving along with his study habits. He earned his associate of arts degree, proving he could handle college academics.

Next up is his opportunity to prove he can play Division I football.

“Since I was a kid, I’ve always dreamed of playing big-time college football,” he said.

Imagine the sense of accomplishment when Davis walks onto the field at the Coliseum to play against USC this fall.

“Man, I might cry being so happy,” he said.

What’s the lesson from Davis’ incredible journey?

“Hopefully, it gives somebody hope they can still do something,” he said. “It’s kind of amazing to me.”

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Saturday is the first day college coaches can begin contacting high school seniors by phone.

Three girls expected to receive lots of calls are golfer Ina Kim of Harvard-Westlake, softball player Christina Enea of El Camino Real and soccer player Kim Taylor of Chaminade. Not far behind will be baseball players Tyler Adamczyk of Westlake and Bill Susdorf of Hart. . . .

Beware of Canyon’s pitching staff next season. Senior left-hander Chris Seddon is throwing consistently between 86 and 88 mph. Junior left-hander Jake Coash, who’s 6-4 and 220 pounds and just learning to pitch, is throwing in the mid-80s. . . .

The American Roundball Corp. all-star boys’ basketball team made up of 9-year-olds is seeded No. 1 for the AAU national championships next week in Memphis. The team is led by point guard Pe’Shon Howard, who ARC founder Rich Goldberg insists is “a future Division I player.” . . .

In a basketball game Wednesday, Taft sophomore guard Steve Smith scored 22 points and had six blocks in an overtime victory over Newbury Park.

Smith, who has a 32-inch vertical leap, didn’t play particularly well. He missed close to a dozen shots and got tired. But he never stopped competing. He’s a special athlete with extraordinary skills. Just wait until he shows what he can do as a receiver and defensive back in football, his best sport.

Eric Sondheimer’s local column appears Wednesday and Sunday. He can be reached at (818) 772-3422 or eric.sondheimer@latimes.com