(St. Petersburg, FL – March 2017) – Jay Davis, one of the most prolific quarterbacks in Florida high school football history and son of longtime CCC Head Football Coach John Davis, has been named Head Football Coach and Physical Education Teacher at St. Petersburg Catholic High School. Davis will be introduced by President/Principal Fr. Richard Rosin, SDB at a press conference today at 3pm in the St. John Bosco Center For The Arts. The event will be streamed live on Facebook and Twitter via the @SPCHSBarons account.
Davis was a three-time all-state high school quarterback at Clearwater Central Catholic, where he played for his father, John Davis. As a senior, Davis was a Parade All-American and Rivals.com rated him as the ninth-best dropback quarterback in the nation. He was the 2000 St. Petersburg Times Player of the Year and was named to the Florida roster for the Florida/Georgia All-Star Game.
Davis earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from North Carolina State, where he finished as the No. 9-rated passer in program history as a four-year letter-winning quarterback and team captain. As a junior, Davis ranked second in the ACC with 2,104 passing yards, the 10th most in school history. Davis backed up current NFL Pro Bowl quarterback Philip Rivers as a sophomore.
Following his collegiate career, Davis participated in minicamps for the New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was also chosen as an instructor at the Manning Passing Academy in 2005.
“We are excited to welcome Jay to the Baron family,” Fr. Rosin said. “Jay impressed the committee with his passion and dedication to creating a positive, winning, and Catholic environment that will develop our students on and off the playing field.”
“I am thrilled to be named the next Head Football Coach at St. Petersburg Catholic High School.” Davis said. “I was extremely impressed throughout the interview process at the level of commitment the search committee displayed to help us build a successful program. We are all very excited to create a culture for our program that represents the values of St. Pete Catholic, as well as re-establish a winning tradition that student-athletes, parents, and alumni can be proud to be a part of.”
The Davis hire creates a family rivalry between St. Pete Catholic and Clearwater Central Catholic, the only other Catholic high school located in Pinellas County. At the conclusion of the 2015 season, Jay’s father, John Davis, the fourth all-time winningest coach in Pinellas County, retired as Head Football Coach of CCC and was replaced by his son-in-law, Chris Harvey. The two siblings will square off for the first time on September 29th at CCC.
Davis comes to St. Pete Catholic after a ten-year stint in college coaching as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, with stops at Quincy University (IL), Truman State (MO), Grambling State University (LA), and North Carolina State, where he began his coaching career as an offensive graduate assistant and recruiting assistant.
As the offensive coordinator at Truman, Davis coached eight offensive first team all-conference selections and helped the Bulldogs transition from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association to the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Prior to his service at Truman, Davis was the quarterbacks coach for three seasons at FCS program Grambling State where he helped the Tigers to a Southwestern Athletic Conference championship in 2007. Grambling also won the 2008 Sheridan Black College National Championship and the 2009 Bayou Classic championship. He coached quarterback Greg Dillion to All-SWAC and SWAC Newcomer of the Year honors. Dillion also was named the MVP of the Bayou Classic and the MVP of the SWAC Championship Game.
A committee of Baron football alumni, school administrators, and influential leaders in the Diocese of St. Petersburg selected Davis. The committee included Msgr. Robert Gibbons, Pastor of St. Paul’s Catholic Church in St. Petersburg; Anthony Janicki ’06, who started at offensive tackle for St. Pete Catholic; Fr. Carl Melchior, Director of Vocations, Diocese of St. Petersburg, who worked nine seasons as Assistant Equipment Manager for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Christopher Pastura, Superintendent of Catholic Schools and Centers, Diocese of St. Petersburg; Fr. Richard Rosin, SDB, President/Principal; Billy Tapp ’05, a three-year starter for St. Pete Catholic and former quarterback at the University of Mississippi; and Dr. Daniel Zepp, Director of Advancement and former defensive lineman at Boston College.