The Best We Ever Saw: Stephen Davis

MaxPreps asked its most experienced writers and freelancers to name the best high school football player they ever saw. Requirements were at least 20 years on the job and that they had to see the athlete play in person.

First touch. A quick step toward the sideline. A head fake inside. Gone for six points.

Second touch. Punt return. Gone.

Third touch. The same.

Fourth touch. Gone to the house again.

Stephen Davis, who would star for Auburn University and help lead the NFL's Carolina Panthers to their only Super Bowl appearance, was precisely that dominant as a running back and kick returner for Spartanburg (S.C.) in the early 1990s. Playing in a big-school conference in a state known for producing blue chippers, Davis was the real deal.

Davis was so dominant that he was done by halftime in some of his high school games. The night I saw him play against one of Rock Hill's state title-contending teams in District 3 Stadium in 1990, Davis touched the ball four times and four times he scored.

Blazing speed. If he got just 1 foot on a defender, it was over.

The biggest recruiting story that year was whether Davis would choose to attend nearby Clemson or go to Auburn. A Tiger either way, Davis chose Auburn, where he twice was named an All-SEC selection. He was a starter by the time he was a sophomore.

Davis rushed for more than 4,500 yards and won state championships in football and track at Spartanburg High, a number that would have been much higher if he played every quarter of every game. No need.

He went on to lead the National Football Conference in rushing in 1999 with the Washington Redskins, played in Super Bowl XXXVIII with the Carolina Panthers and three times was named All-Pro. In 1999, he averaged more than 100 yards per game and scored a career-high 17 touchdowns. He finished up his career with the Panthers and St. Louis Rams, totaling 8,052 yards and 65 touchdowns before retiring from pro football after the 2006 season. His 1,444 rushing yards with the Panthers in 2002 was a career high.

Davis has remained close to his Carolina roots. After completing his NFL career with the Rams in 2006, he requested the Panthers sign him to a one-day contract so that he could retire as a Carolina Panther. In 2010, he began a coaching internship with the Panthers in Charlotte, N.C. He returns to the Spartanburg area often.

Honorable mention:

Greg Jennings, Kalamazoo Central HS: Now a star receiver with the NFL Green Bay Packers and a former All-Mid-American Conference receiver at Western Michigan University.

Tony Stewart, St. Augustine (Fla.) Menendez HS: One of the top linebackers in the country in 2010, Stewart is a freshman linebacker at Clemson University. At Menendez, Stewart did it all. He played on both sides of the ball, including at linebacker and running back, and he also ran back kicks.

Reilly O'Toole, Wheaton Warrenville South (Ill.) HS: Led the Tigers to two consecutive state championships in Illinois. He is now a freshman quarterback at the University of Illinois with a QB rating of 112.6.

Tommy Rees, Lake Forest (Ill.) HS: The former north suburban Chicago star is now the starting quarterback at the University of Notre Dame. In a 2009 game at Lake Forest, Rees threw for six touchdowns and 526 yards.

Paul D. Bowker began covering prep sports in 1977 with the Cape Cod Times in Massachusetts, and went on to write at a number of newspapers, including the Kansas City Star, Rock Hill (S.C.) Herald, Florida Times-Union and Kalamazoo (Mich.) Gazette. Winner of several national writing awards, Bowker is now a freelance sports journalist and sports author based in Chesterton, Ind., just outside of Chicago.