Rawls, a four-time All- American, twice at the junior college level and twice at Michigan, convinced Davis, a seventh-grader at the time, to try a sport that floundered in the elongated shadow football and basketball created in Harrisburg. Ten years later, Rawls walked into an arena half a country away and watched Davis dominate Michalak 7-2. AdvertisementTo many, Davis’ college success was a surprise. Davis, who wrestled his final college bout Saturday, never won a PIAA title or opened his mailbox and found letters from celebrity coaches. Rawls envisioned Davis’ success. He knew he discovered something special when he shook those hands and watched Davis practice for the first time.
Davis placed three times for Harrisburg in the PIAA Class AAA Championships. But Rawls had an inkling Davis could flourish in a major Division I program. So he called Iowa State’s Bobby Douglas, Michigan’s Joe McFarland and Illinois’ Mark Johnson. He made the same sales pitch to all three respected coaches. “I said, ‘Let me tell you about this kid. He won no state championships, but he’s going to be something in college because he can ride,’” Rawls said. “I knew that he had the body strength. He was just missing some things in high school that I didn’t have enough time to teach. He just wasn’t there. But his mindset was there.” The pitch received lukewarm interest from the Midwestern coaches. Yet a group of coaches 90 miles up Route 322 saw the same thing as Rawls.
Penn State head coach Troy Sunderland and assistant Dave Hart first watched Davis during the 2001 PIAA Championships. Their interest in the sophomore increased when they heard a story about Davis taking a bus from Harrisburg to State College to participate in a tournament. “You don’t see that kind of dedication too often from an individual at that age,” Hart said. “I watched him at the state championships as a sophomore and the way that he wrestled impressed us. He was offensive.” Penn State’s coaches continued tracking Davis. They offered him what other major programs didn’t make available. “The other coaches didn’t buy into it because nobody gave him a scholarship,” Rawls said. “But Penn State did. Penn State was the only one that bought into it. Troy came down and Troy saw something. Troy was saying what I was saying, ‘This kid is going to be good in college.’ He made a great investment.” Recruiting Davis was comparable to buying Microsoft stock during the 1980s.
Davis earned All-American honors four times. He won two Big Ten titles. He participated in two NCAA finals. He went 58-6 in dual meets and never lost during a team competition at Rec Hall. “I was pretty sure about him,” said Hart, who sat in Davis’ corner Saturday night. “You could see his ability. Phil gets a lot credit because of natural ability, but Phil has a strong desire to win. He’s a competitor. When he got to Penn State, he trained really hard his freshman and sophomore year.” Davis should be remembered as Penn State’s best wrestler this decade. His victory Saturday night proved that Penn State’s current staff can recruit and develop national champions. Davis earned his title during the school’s 100th year of wrestling.
The victory might have a bigger impact in Harrisburg. Rawls said 100 wrestlers are participating in the city’s elementary program. He expects the group to develop into a varsity team that can compete with some of District 3’s top programs. “Man, has Harrisburg High School come a long way,” Rawls said. “He’s doing something for the whole entire city. You have to understand where we come from. We come from the inner city. Nobody wrestles. They play basketball and football, and here I got a guy on the wrestling team that when we must have had six guys out, it didn’t disturb him. He came out everyday and he worked hard. “We still can’t field a full wrestling team because we are inner city. But now we have 100 kids in the elementary program. I know it has a lot to with Phil Davis and my longevity and perseverance. I have coached the last 20 years in Harrisburg to prove to people that inner city kids can wrestle. That’s my driving force and Phil is my shining star. He’s the shining star of this whole picture.”
Davis’ star won’t dim soon. He’s graduating in May and he wants to stay involved in the sport that found him. “I’m a very competitive person and I don’t think wrestling is something that I want to give up,” Davis said late Saturday night. “What exactly does that mean? It might be coaching or competing for an Olympic team and world medals, possibly. I’m not sure right this second. I have a lot going on this second.”
Thanks to Guy Cipriano and the "Centre Daily Times" (State College, Pa.) for the article