Son of an NFL legend, Thomas Davis Jr. chose Notre Dame over his father's alma mater, finding a true home and immediate mentorship.
There's been an ever-growing trend of former NFL standout's kids attending Notre Dame under the Marcus Freeman regime. There's been several over the last recruiting classes including Bryce Young, son of NFL Hall of Famer Bryant Young, Devin Fitzgerald the son of legendary wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and Kaydon Finley, son of former Green Bay Packers tight end JerMichael Finley.
Finley and Fitzgerald are two players in this class with family ties back to the NFL. The other is linebacker Thomas Davis Jr., the son of long-time Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis. The Weddington, South Carolina native choose Notre Dame over Georgia, his father's alma mater and the decision throughout the process became abundantly clear.
"It really just came down to what was going to be the best decision for me," Davis explained. "I grew up a Georgia fan all my life; all I knew was red and black. That was all I rooted for. But once it came time to make the decision for me, Notre Dame just felt like more of a fit for me. I ended up taking an official visit to Georgia and one here, and that was when I was going to make my decision on where I wanted to be. I just felt like this was home."
"That Georgia offer didn’t really come until late," Davis continued. "It came during spring ball of my junior year. Obviously that was late for an offer. I was going to evaluate the decision after growing up a fan. It just came down to, ‘All right, if I don’t take this official visit, I might wonder forever if that would’ve been the place for me.’ I was going to take it to be sure because that’s a legacy thing. I took the official visit there then I took one here. I knew immediately this was home."
Like all of the true freshman who have spoken with the media, it didn't take long for Davis to see why he made the correct decision in choosing to come to South Bend. The 6-2, 215-pound linebacker is walking into a loaded room and several of them have looked into taking Davis under their wing to get him going a few weeks before Spring Ball kicks off.
"There's been multiple guys actually, really everyone in the room," David answered when asked who's taken him under their wing. "We have a great linebacker room and it's tight knit. I have a great relationship with Kyngstonn [Viliamu-Asa] and a great relationship with Drayk [Bowen]. From the day I got here, Kyngstonn was bringing me and Ja’Kobe [Clapper] in to watch film. I’ve watched film with Drayk and with Jaiden Ausberry. Those guys are helping out a lot."
It's unlikely Davis will see much time in meaningful minutes this season. That's the nature of the beast when you walk into a room that returns all five guys that started and were in the rotation in 2025. But it also won't take long for his impact to be felt on the field. I'm sure special teams coach Marty Biagi is more than excited to have a player like Davis at his disposal. This offseason will be about learning and finding his footing, but once he does, Davis will be another talented player that's eager to play and difficult to keep off the field.
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