Meet the NFL Draft hopeful, horseback rider, who wants to be next great HBCU WR

New York Times

23-04-2025

As Joaquin Davis prepares for the NFL Draft, football and the potential achievements that come with the game are on his mind. By the end of this week, the standout wide receiver from North Carolina Central hopes to be the first HBCU player drafted since 2023 and the first HBCU receiver drafted since 2017.
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If Davis finds a home with an NFL team, only then will he relax the best way he knows how. When he's not honing his craft on the football field, Davis might be found on a farm riding a horse.
'For the last couple of months, I haven't been able to (ride a horse), because I've been training so hard and just dedicated to what I'm doing now,' Davis said. 'But during the season, that was something that we just did: go out and have fun.'
Horseback riding is the pastime for the player considered to be a potential late-round draft pick. Born and raised in Durham, N.C., Davis believes getting inner-city youth out to the country for outdoor activities can be a positive alternative to the lives they may be accustomed to in the city.
As of late, however, Davis has been focused more on impressing NFL scouts than a calming trail ride. He caught the attention of many at the NFL's HBCU Draft Combine in February after running a 4.44-second 40-yard dash and showing off a 40 1/2-inch vertical as a 6-foot-4, 194-pound athlete.
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No HBCU players were drafted last year, but Davis is hopeful to hear his name called this weekend. Jackson State cornerback Isaiah Bolden was a seventh-round selection of the New England Patriots in the 2023 NFL Draft. The last HBCU receiver to get drafted was Chad Williams, a Grambling State prospect selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round of the 2017 draft.
Davis considers that added motivation, as he is well aware of the legacy of HBCU wide receivers who have had memorable careers in the NFL. Among the names are Hall of Famers Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley State), Charlie Joiner (Grambling State), Bob Hayes (Florida A&M), Harold Carmichael (Southern) and John Stallworth (Alabama A&M).
But Rice, the youngest of the aforementioned at 62, was drafted No. 1 in the 1985 draft — and 40 years is a long time.
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'There hasn't been a receiver to come out of an HBCU in a while and really stick in the league,' Davis said. 'That's always something that's in the back of my mind, too. I want to be known as one of the greatest. Jerry Rice came from an HBCU, and he's one of the greatest receivers ever. Seeing him being able to do it, I know I can too.'
Davis' combine results, his ability to play special teams and his size as a wide receiver all stand out to scouts. North Carolina Central's offense didn't force-feed Davis — he had a team-high 31 catches for 489 yards and four touchdowns on a 2024 squad that featured 15 players with receptions — but he'd already been on the radar of NFL teams.
An All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) selection last season, Davis finished his career with 92 catches for 1,211 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also was a member the North Carolina Central team that won the 2022 Celebration Bowl and beat a Jackson State — team then coached by Deion Sanders — that featured projected 2025 first-round draft picks in two-way standout Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
'I thought he was a professional two years ago,' North Carolina Central coach Trei Oliver said of Davis, who had 25 catches for 291 yards and two scores during his sophomore year in 2022. 'He practices hard and plays special teams, and he is physical. He doesn't shy away from contact.'
There's a fearless mindset in Davis, Oliver said, that makes him an intriguing prospect in this week's draft. Some might say riding horses cosigns that fearlessness.
Oliver laughed when asked about the wide receiver's hobby, one that other players on the team share as well.
'As long as they're careful with it,' Oliver said. 'A bunch of our players go out to the farm and ride horses.'
Davis' arrival on the North Carolina Central campus helped introduce him to life on the farm and his love for horses was enhanced, ironically, by a player on the Eagles roster who ended up being more than just another teammate.
Defensive lineman Jaden Taylor was an all-MEAC defensive lineman and a co-captain for the Eagles along with Davis last season. Davis learned by accident that he and Taylor were related.
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'We got paired up in the summer in the same house,' Davis said. 'I went to his house, and he was like, 'Hold on, I think I know your mom.' That's when we found out we were cousins.
'I started hanging with him a lot, and he already had horses. So, it just kind of happened.'
Davis has ridden several breeds of horses. He said he doesn't have a favorite, but the idea of purchasing his own horse — and his own farm — with an NFL paycheck is something he thinks about.
Hearing his name called in one of the draft rounds this week obviously would be a dream come true for Davis. He once hoped it would be as a quarterback — the position at Charles E. Jordan High School, located roughly 15 minutes away from the North Carolina Central campus. Davis switched to receiver under Oliver's tutelage.
Playing college football close to home was special for him, as North Carolina Central was the only school to offer him a Division I scholarship.
Oliver, who recruited Davis, said he was always 'mature,' which made the position switch an easy one. Davis was someone who treated practice reps the same as game reps. Those high-speed practices made for great live auditions as he caught NFL scouts attention even before last season. Scouts originally came to practices to watch quarterback Davius Richard, a two-time MEAC Offensive Player of the Year, but also noticed Davis' size, speed and catching ability.
pic.twitter.com/qGzQqz7XJr
— Joaquin Davis (@Boominxj1) May 9, 2024
Oliver believes Davis has a chance to be a late-round draft pick or, at least, someone who could land with a team for training camp as an undrafted free agent. Oliver added there was work in the offseason to make sure Davis was ready to impress NFL scouts, including drills he'd have to perform at the combine and preparation for February's HBCU Legacy Bowl, the all-star game in New Orleans that showcased the best draft-eligible HBCU football players.
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'My whole mindset was I have to be the one that everybody is talking about when I leave,' Davis said. 'It started with the combine. I knew how I was going to perform. A lot of people didn't know my name, but after that, I wanted to make sure that they knew who I was. Going into the (Legacy Bowl) game and practices, I wanted to show consistency and that I wasn't just numbers and that I can really play football at a high level.'
Davis has stayed in Durham to prepare for the draft, working out at the Duke Sports Science Institute. He saw how much pre-draft preparation helped his former college teammate, cornerback/return specialist Brandon Codrington, who is now with the Buffalo Bills. Codrington went undrafted last year but was signed by the New York Jets as a free agent. He eventually was traded to Buffalo and appeared in 17 games.
Davis obviously has been focused on the NFL much longer than just the last couple of months, but some are getting to know him as a potential draft pick as of late. In addition to training in Durham, he's been spending a lot of time visiting middle schools and high schools in the area hoping to serve as a role model.
Squeezing in a ride on a horse is an added bonus.
'I love nature, so being able to ride and just enjoy scenery can really ease your mind,' he said.
Davis is motivated to show the world that a player from a smaller school can make an impact in the NFL. And no matter what happens during the draft, his goal is to have an extended pro career.
'I love ball,' he said. 'That's the only thing that I'm actually consistent with. I don't party and all that. I'm just all about my work. I want to be one of the best ever.'
(Top photo courtesy of North Carolina Central University athletics)