The era(s) of Davis might soon be over
December 2, 1996
MANHATTAN, Kan. — I witnessed the making of history last week down in Manhattan, Kansas.
As I sat in the climate controlled press box munching away on complimentary cookies and soda, I saw Troy Davis break the two thousand- yard mark for a second time.
And there it hit me.
It was most likely the last time that I will see Troy Davis play for a college team.
In the past two seasons, the man had earned 4,195 yards rushing. To take the words out of Troy’s mouth, the accomplishment is “unbelievable.”
Davis, in my opinion, will get the Heisman. He earned it and he deserves it.
He is consistently gaining hundreds of yards from even the top ranked teams. McCarney made a strong point about the award — he stressed that it is for individual achievement.
So what if Davis is on a losing team? If the voters actually take that into account, they should also look at how close the losses were, and how well the Cyclones stood up to the top-ranked teams.
And while on the subject, the Heisman pose that Davis struck was worth it, no matter how many penalty yards the team was slapped with. It was a beautiful pose, right in front of the referee.
Even though we weren’t at home, they showed an instant replay on their giant screen. Finally the modest Davis takes some credit for his enormous feats.
But there is a bigger question that looms overhead.
What will Davis do next year?
He won’t say. The coach won’t say. No one is willing to comment.
But he’s going to take off. I am sure he has already made up his mind.
In the blink of an eye, he will have vanished from this campus, and who can blame him?
Play another year at Iowa State, rack up another 2,000 yards? It doesn’t seem like much of a challenge for Davis any more.
He has done it twice before.
He has done something that no one else has ever done in history. All that is left is to break his own records.
People should start getting ready for the possibility that Davis will go pro. This year proves that the previous season was not a fluke. And the stiff competition from the Big 12 reinforces the belief that Troy Davis is the real deal.
Troy Davis is one of the key reasons the Cyclones have been able to come from a black hole and jumped into the limelight.
Can you think of any other 2-9 team that the public wants to hear about?
You definitely can’t ask Davis to do anything more than that which he already has achieved.
And sadly, this year may mark the end of the Davis era all together, as the rumor has been circulating that Darren might not hang around for next year, and take off for a warmer place closer to home, at Florida State, all because his high school coach recently got a job in their football program.
Who knows?
Rory Flaherty is a junior in construction engineering from LeMars.