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KALAMAZOO, MI -- Western Michigan freshman Corey Davis became the second Bronco wide receiver in a row to win MAC Freshman of the Year honors, duplicating the accolades awarded to Jaime Wilson last year.
Davis, the 6-2, 205lb. speedster out of Wheaton, Illinois led the nation's freshman receivers in receptions (67) and yardage (941), nearly 150 yards more than Wilson had the previous season. Coincidentally, both Wilson and Davis had the identical number of catches and touchdowns (6) during their first year in a Bronco uniform.
"Corey Davis is one of the rising stars in college football at the WR position. He's humble, resilient, committed and has a tremendous work ethic," said Bronco head coach PJ Fleck. "His ability to overcome adversity has been proven throughout his life. We are so happy for him with winning the Freshman Player of The Year in the MAC. It couldn't happen to a better young man."
"it was very helpful to me to have coach Fleck there in addition to our position coach (Luke Getsy)," said Davis. "He has so much experience having played the position and coached it professionally. He was on me hard from the beginning but it really made me a better player in the long run."
Davis, who was also selected to the All-MAC second team, wasn't the only one in his family to receive good news yesterday. Corey's older brother Titus Davis, a junior receiver at Central Michigan University, was named to the All-MAC first team. The older Davis was third team as a freshman and second team as a sophomore.
"I am proud of my brother and what he has accomplished.' said the younger Davis. "He has obviously given me the confidence to set my goals high. I remember playing at the same time as him when I was called up to varsity as a sophomore in high school and it being a big deal. He seemed so much bigger, stronger, faster than me then. Now I think I can hold my own."
The Michigan State defensive secondary would agree. In Davis' first game as a collegian, he torched the Spartan secondary for eight receptions, 96 yards and the Broncos only touchdown in front of 75,000 at Spartan Stadium.
"I wasn't intimidated at all, just excited to get the season going," said Davis. "We were confident because we knew we were prepared. We just didn't get any breaks."
Davis is really excited about what the future has in store for the next three seasons.
"We know that coach Fleck has a long term plan and we are excited to be part of that. This season was just a learning experience that we will grow from. The future is bright for this program."
Expect the ball to be in the air a lot next season. In addition to the return of Wilson who had a medical redshirt this season, the Broncos return Kendrick Roberts and Timmy Kieth. Fleck is also excited about a couple of high school "commits" that he cannot comment on until signing day. The question may be more about whether there will be enough footballs to go around. Not necessarily a bad problem to have.
