Bitter blog - Re-stocked QB pool could lead to interesting competition down the line

precisely. we have never had this kind of talent at one time, nor have we had this level of talent commit in consecutive recruiting cycles. I, like most, have questions about Lefty's strategies sometimes but you cannot deny that he has immediately reversed our attraction level for high quality QB recruits.

Bucky's playing where he needs to play. The qb thing will get worked out.

...Isn't that exactly what he was saying?

I was trying to find something that verified Davis played receiver his junior year in HS (as my aging brain recalls) when I ran into this article that I feel like sharing. It speaks to the "hard to keep your mind right sometimes" comment I made above. A lot of times, as fans, we judge guys solely by what we see on the field. As I age, as I learn, as I stumble, I try to recognize that there is often a whole lot more to the picture that could help me formulate my opinions.
I copied and pasted this article, to make it easier (I lied, I can post a gif, but I haven't figured out how to link a freakin' article yet). But I believe this is a part of MD that many don't know, and is worth reading:

BLACKSBURG, Va. On Dec. 23, 1989, Lillian Tann received a phone call from Virginia Beachs Department of Human Services.

Do you want a baby? His mom just walked out the hospital and left him.

It wasnt totally unexpected. Tanns house on Beautiful Street, less than two miles from the Atlantic Ocean, had long been a haven for forgotten children. A school bus driver in Virginia Beach for 30 years, Tann and her husband, Wilford, had become foster parents years earlier and taken in a number of children.

So Tann made the 10-minute drive to Virginia Beach General Hospital, not realizing how that decision would resonate almost 23 years later.

Usually I just kept [foster children] three or four months and then their parents would come pick them up, Tann recalled last week. Aint no parents come pick up Marcus, so I kept him. I had him at two days old and he felt like mine. Hes been my baby ever since.

Marcus turned into Virginia Tech redshirt senior Marcus Davis, a tantalizing yet polarizing talent who could become the programs first 1,000-yard receiver this year. Every play he makes, though, is a tribute to the people who raised him in place of the family he hardly knows.

Every time I do something, I thank them just for keeping me. Its a blessing. Things like that usually dont happen. I dont think Id be here without them, Davis said recently. I dont know what my life would have been like if they hadnt did what they did for me.

It is what it is
Now 80 years old, Tann initially couldnt remember the first name of Daviss birth mother last week. Davis doesnt know it, either. He has spoken to her only a few times, mostly over the phone, and neither Tann nor Davis have met his father.

But Tann called back, her memory of Michelle Davis jogged after a conversation with a reporter. Michelle grew up across the way on Beautiful Street, but moved away years before Marcus was born.

Tann knew about their long-ago connection when she picked up Marcus at the hospital. She even took Marcus to see his mother in those first days, because social services told me to since [at that time], he was just in foster care. Every now and then, Michelle Davis would return to her old neighborhood to see her son.

Shed then leave to go wherever. I didnt ask no questions. I didnt want to know, said Tann, who eventually gained full custody of Marcus. When he got school-sized, we didnt see her that much. She didnt have enough sense to keep in close contact with her son, so why should I keep in contact with her?

Outside of the circumstances that brought him to the Tann household, Marcus Davis calls his upbringing a good childhood, with many days spent playing football and basketball with his cousins at Seatack Recreation Center. He became an honor roll student in school, stayed out of trouble and continues to go to church to this day.

Davis joined his first organized football team at age 5, around the same time Tann had to address the situation involving his birth parents. Tann said Davis initially learned of his mother and father from a member of the Virginia Beach Department of Human Services.

Davis says now that it barely fazed him.

I never really looked into it because as a child I didnt know. I was so young, and then as I grew up it didnt really matter, he said. I had what I needed. I had that family I wanted. I was blessed to get a mother and a father. Not by birth, but at the same time, two days old, thats pretty much birth.

I talked to my [birth] mother, but at this stage in my life, I really dont even ..., Davis added, his voice trailing off. It is what it is.

On-field difficulties
When Davis first arrived on Virginia Techs campus in July 2008 after a standout career as a quarterback at Ocean Lakes High, there were no other students around. He initially thought, Man, I cant do this. On the field, he had to adjust to playing wide receiver, a move that seemed to be a natural fit considering his 6-foot-4, 232-pound frame, 4.49-second 40-yard dash and a 40.5-inch vertical jump.

But after redshirting as a freshman, he had to wait his turn behind record-setting wideouts Jarrett Boykin and Danny Coale for three years. Despite showing glimpses of his talent, Davis sometimes chafed at the tough love he received from Virginia Techs coaches.

I was trying to get home whenever I could, Davis said. I could not stand it.

His ascension to a starting role this year hasnt gone as smoothly as he hoped, either. Though Davis leads the Hokies with 38 catches for 754 yards and four touchdowns, he has had several key drops and questioned the leadership on this years team. This week, Davis became a symbol for Virginia Techs worst season in 20 years when a video of his poor blocking was featured on several national Web sites and blogs.

But Davis contends his brush with Internet infamy is just a blip on the radar screen.

Obviously somebody was bored and they felt they could put up a video, but little did they know, they dont know the half of it, Davis said. If thats what they want to do with their free time, then I applaud them. Go ahead and do what you want. But at the end of the day, thats not gonna define me. Thats not who I am.

What is your angle?
Davis says theres little significance to the fact that he still goes by his birth mothers last name. Before college he thought about changing it to Tann, but never got around to it. But his fame on the field in recent years has brought some unfamiliar faces into the picture.

Since Davis went to Virginia Tech, Wilford Tann said Michelle Davis has stopped by his Beautiful Street house three times. Lillian Tann noted the encounters have always been right after Marcus has visited from Blacksburg, and that Michelle hasnt stayed long. Invariably, the short conversations would break down into three categories: Hows Marcus? Wheres Marcus? Give Marcus my phone number.

Marcus Davis has had no contact with her, but those who helped raise him worry about the situation because, despite his up-and-down college career, Daviss physical gifts could make him an NFL draft pick, according to ESPN expert Mel Kiper Jr.

Now it feels like people are starting to come around because of who he is, said Jeri McCants, Daviss godmother, who helped him through the recruiting process. But its like, Where were you guys when his lights were getting cut off up at Blacksburg? He didnt have money to eat because he was sending money back home to Virginia Beach. Not saying theres anything wrong with it or anything, but where were you, this other family, for a lot of years? Half of them knew who he was and now you want to come around and [say], Dont forget your Davis side.

I just tell him: I know who I am. I know my place. But Im gonna still look at people. I would never tell you dont see your mother or your father, but Im gonna still be looking at them from the corner of my eye. What is your angle? What are you trying to get? I would never tell them, No, you cant be a part of his life. But I can understand why hes like, Dont come now when you werent there then.

Davis doesnt pay his birth mothers entreaties much mind. Hes focused on salvaging a season that hasnt gone as planned for Virginia Tech, which enters Saturdays game at Boston College needing two wins simply to make a bowl game for a 20th consecutive season. But when the subject comes up, Wilford Tann likes to tell the story of how Marcus picked us as his parents.

One day, Wilford introduced himself to someone as Marcuss godfather. But Marcus cut him off and quickly corrected Tann: You aint my godfather. Youre my father.

And he said the same thing about his mother. He loves me as much as anybody loves me. I believe he do.

Mark Giannotto covers Virginia and Virginia Tech for The Washington Post.
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Hope757
11/16/2012 3:50 PM EST
I don't know where to start. Marcus have been in my life as a brother for almost 22 years. I love him like he is my real brother. When I read this article it brought tears to my eyes. To read a humble person finally speakout and tell his story. My hat goes off to him for taking that step. Love u Marcus and just know Ur family back in Seatack have your back. Keep up the good work and fight harder for success. God is with you and not going to fail you. You came to far to look back at any negative foolishness.
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RogerRamjet2
11/16/2012 1:39 PM EST
What a beautiful story. We're cheering for you and your great family, Marcus!

Exactly.

Ditto. The whole situation was effed up a d tragic. Worst part of all was thinking what would this young man have been like had he benefited from 4-5 years of our coaching staff as positive role models.