How it only took 10 years for Marcus Davis to go from freshman to WR coach at Auburn
In just the span of one decade, Marcus Davis went from a brand-new Auburn player to a brand-new Auburn assistant coach. Here's how.
WR coach Marcus Davis (Twitter)
Most football coaches work their entire lives to get their dream jobs.
It took Marcus Davis less than six years. He was a true freshman wideout just 10 years ago.
That’s a whole lot in just one decade.
The career path of Auburn’s new wide receivers coach is a special one. It’s a story of hard, behind-the-scenes work and incredible adaptability.
It’s been an extremely fast process, but that shouldn’t be a surprise for a former high school quarterback who immediately became Auburn’s No. 3 wide receiver during its storybook 2013 SEC championship season under Gus Malzahn.
“It's a dream for me,” Davis said last week. “It truly is. I didn't know it would happen this quick. But you know, I think it's just been being a product of being where you are and just trying to be the very best.”
The youngest member of the first coaching staff under Hugh Freeze, Davis’ final season on the Plains as a player was in 2016. There were players from Auburn’s 2017 recruiting class who just got done with their playing careers.
In terms of production, Davis’ 217-yard true freshman season was his best one. His remaining years were impacted some by injuries, but Davis developed a reputation of being a smart, veteran receiver who could really do the dirty work out wide.
“When you're winning, that makes everybody happy,” Davis said. “That's one of the things I took into my coaching style is making sure, even if you're not getting the football, you're still involved.”
And while Davis has only been a wide receivers coach for two seasons at the college level, he’s definitely found a way to get his players to buy into that mindset — and also generate some of the big stats that he might not have gotten on his own as a player.