I am not kidding.
Via Inside Carolina.
According to a source close to UNC, Davis, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound quarterback, was offered a preferred walk-on spot and enrolled in the second summer semester. A similar offer was extended by Miami, where his father coached for 11 seasons, including six as head coach.
“The last thing that I had heard, which was in May, was that [Davis] was going to go to Miami,” Renner said. “They had been after him since January, [because] they wanted him to come in early. Drew just wanted to be a free agent to see what was out there. He knew he didn’t have to rush it.”
FCS and Division II schools expressed interest, but Davis quickly bypassed those opportunities.
“He wasn’t really interested in them,” Renner said. “When they asked, he just said, ‘No, I want to go D-I and if I have to walk on, I’ll walk on.’”
According to a source, one of the main reasons Davis selected UNC over Miami was his relationship with Bryn Renner, Bill’s son and UNC’s starting quarterback.
This will undoubtedly elicit a chorus of "Why?" from the population in general. Per IC, the primary reason given is the younger Davis' relationship with current UNC QB Bryn Renner whose father coached Davis at East Chapel Hill HS. Of course that simply deals with the reason Davis is doing, which still seems odd considering the fiasco surrounding his father's departure and Holden Thorp committing a secondary NCAA violation by uttering his name in public.
The real question is why on earth would UNC agree to this? The football program has just gone through this two year ordeal which culminated with everyone from Dick Baddour down to the lowest assistant coach on the totem pole being shown the door. Before this came out it would appear UNC had done an outstanding job of cleaning house and severing all connections to the unpleasantness of the Butch Davis era. Now UNC appears willing to keep part of that alive in the form of allowing Davis' son a spot on the football roster. This is a headscratcher to be sure that is at best just plain odd and at worst UNC not paying attention to public perception.
On the flip side, Drew Davis hasn't done anything wrong nor is he responsible for anything that happened while his father was at UNC. You can argue that with Butch Davis safely ensconced in an NFL job in Tampa Bay, his on-campus presence will be minimal.Drew Davis, who is friends with Renner and having lived in Chapel Hill since 2006, simply would like to attend school in a familiar place with people he knows around him. In addition, with a new AD and football coach in place, one would bank that a single player, even the son of the last head coach, will not cause an issue.
So it is probably a little facepalm worthy at first glance and in all honesty the safest move is to avoid the association altogether. However, the question of whether Drew Davis should be punished for transgressions that were completely outside of his control is a fair one. UNC's answer is Drew Davis has nothing to do with his father or his tenure at UNC so he should be given a shot. Whether that carries water in the PR realm and what not remains to be seen.
UPDATE: I had forgotten until I was reminded on Twitter that Jennifer Wiley, the tutor at the center of the academic fraud violations, also served as Drew Davis' private tutor at his home. Again, if Davis is being treated on his own merits then this could be considered irrelevant though it does add another interesting twist to the whole story.
Also, Butch Davis and his wife Tammy have spoken to the AP and support their son's decision.
In an interview with The Associated Press, the former coach said he and his wife, Tammy, supported their son's decision despite the turmoil and hurt that followed his abrupt firing just before training camp last summer.
"I think he was concerned about how we'd feel," Tammy Davis said. "But we just kept reiterating that it was his decision."
"He wanted us all to be OK with it," Butch Davis added.
The coaching change threw Drew's once-set college plan into question just before his record-setting senior season at nearby East Chapel Hill. But team spokesman Kevin Best confirmed Drew started classes here Thursday.
The school generally doesn't allow freshmen to talk to reporters until after their first game or public scrimmage.
Butch Davis, currently a consultant to head coach Greg Schiano with the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, said he met Fedora in the spring and also reached out to offensive coordinator Blake Anderson about the possibility of Drew joining Fedora's program.
"We're parents," he said. "As much as anything else, you want what's best for your child. This is what he wishes to do and we're going to support him.
Is it just me or did Butch Davis say they were supporting Drew because they are his parents and not because they agree with it or even think it is the best thing for him?