Reagan High School senior Kyle Davis is the total package as a strong safety, combining his athletic skills and football savvy to rank as one of the state's top college recruits at his position.

Davis, 6 feet and 202 pounds, has the size and strength to punish ball carriers like a linebacker and the speed to cover receivers on deep routes. He was at his best in Reagan's 31-14 victory over New Braunfels last week, picking off three passes to run his interception total to 17 since he became a starter his sophomore year.

"And I'm not quite done yet," Davis said Thursday, smiling.

Davis has returned two interceptions for touchdowns, the first against MacArthur his sophomore year and the second against New Braunfels last year.

"Kyle is a good run stopper as a tackler and a ball hawk in the secondary," Reagan head coach David Wetzel said. "He's able to understand where the ball is going. He reads his keys well. He's got quite a feel for what's happening on the field."

Besides his obvious physical talent and high football IQ, Davis is the type of football player who looks good even when he's standing still. That's how well he fills out his uniform.

Davis reminds me somewhat of former Judson standout Darnell Stephens, who had a stellar career at Clemson before playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Like Stephens, who played quarterback, safety and cornerback at Judson from 1988-90, Davis has proven his versatility as a running back when he's seen spot duty at that position.

"Kyle is an excellent athlete, but more than anything, he's highly competitive and a very intelligent player," Wetzel said. "He understands the game and what the coaches are trying to teach, and the game plan that's being formulated from week to week. Another great thing about him is that he wants to do well.

"He ran the ball the ball a lot last year and he's ready if we need him to play wide receiver, too, but we really need him to concentrate on defense because he's one of our leaders there."

Davis has improved steadily each season, finishing with four interceptions as a sophomore and eight last year. Reagan has made the playoffs both years and is the defending District 26-5A champion. The Rattlers went 11-2 last year and advanced to the Division II state quarterfinals.

This year's squad is 5-2 overall and tied with Madison atop the 26-5A standings with a 4-1 record. Reagan plays surging Johnson (5-3, 4-2) in another key district game at 7 p.m. Saturday at Heroes Stadium. The Jaguars, playing in only their second varsity season, are coming off a 14-13 victory over Roosevelt and have won three in a row.

"Johnson has a lot of kids who started high school at Reagan," Wetzel said.

After facing Johnson, the Rattlers play MacArthur and end the regular season against Madison.

"At this point, anything can happen," Davis said. "You can't relax in this district because everybody is tough."

Reagan, which lost heavily to graduation, has won four consecutive games since starting 1-2. After losing to Katy Cinco Ranch 28-0 in their opener, the Rattlers downed Warren 35-3 before dropping a 17-12 heartbreaker to Smithson Valley. Reagan led 12-11 before the Rangers scored the winning TD with 44 seconds left.

The Rattlers bounced back with a 14-10 victory over Churchill, and beat Lee (45-7) and Roosevelt (38-29) before defeating New Braunfels.

"I think we're pretty good," Davis said. "We're coming together."

Davis had a scare last spring when he broke three ribs and punctured a lung after colliding with a teammate during a passing drill.

"I was trying to break up a pass and ran into a linebacker," Davis said. "We weren't in pads yet. I was pretty sore for a while."

By the start of the summer, Davis had recovered enough to participate in college camps. He went to 11 in all, making stops at Baylor, Houston, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Rice, SMU, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas-El Paso and Tulsa.

Davis is being recruited primarily by Air Force, A&M, Baylor, Navy, New Mexico, North Texas, Richmond, TCU and UTEP.

Born in Dallas, Davis moved from Atlanta to San Antonio with his family before his seventh-grade year at Bush Middle School. The Davis family also has lived in New Orleans, where his father, Kurt, was born and raised.

Davis credits his parents - his mother is named Angela - and paternal grandparents, Alexander and Josephine Davis, who moved from New Orleans to San Antonio after they were displaced by Hurricane Katrina, for much of his success. Kyle's only sibling, Kelsey, is a student at LSU, their father's alma mater.

"My family gives me great support," Kyle said. "They tell me, 'Do your best and be persistent.' I know that they'll love me no matter what happens on the field."

It's obvious Davis takes as much pride in his meticulous mental preparation as he does the physical aspects of his game.

"I think my awareness of where the ball is, whether it's on the ground or in the air, is one of my strengths," Davis said. "You have to be smart. After you watch films of the other team, you can pretty much predict what they're going to do."

Davis' stats reflect his deftness at doing that consistently.

Photos courtesy of Phil Franzone.

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