Football is in Drake Davis’ blood.

His dad, Spencer, and uncles Brian and Luke, all were standouts in high school at Manlius/Bureau Valley. Spencer went on to play at Augustana College while Brian excelled in semipro football.

Drake Davis was a ball boy coming up in the Princeton Youth Football ranks. His football journey took him to Bureau Valley High School for three years when his dad, became the Storm coach. He moved on to Naperville North as a senior before launching a seven-year collegiate career including stops at the University of Illinois and in the Div. 2 ranks at Northern Michigan University and Quincy University.

He’s also had an eye on coaching, starting with an internship while playing at Northern Michigan and last fall as the quarterbacks coach for Princeton High School where his brothers Wyatt, Cael and Teegan previously played.

This week, Davis fulfilled a dream by landing his first head coaching job at Marquette Academy in Ottawa. He said he knew Marquette was the right place for him with all of its tradition.

“I like the way they aligned with their program. It felt like a great fit for me and was the right place for me,” Davis said. “(Being a head coach) is something I’ve always wanted to do. The seven years of playing experience and the one year of coaching doesn’t necessarily line up with everyone’s ideal head coaching candidacy, but my knowledge and experience can get me to that spot.

“With anything that you get hired in, it just takes that one person that is like, ‘yeah, this is our guy.’”

Davis, 26, who will teach at Marquette, succeeds Ken Carlson, who led the Crusaders to a 6-4 record and the program’s 13th consecutive playoff appearance in his only season as head coach. Carlson had been a longtime assistant in the program under Tom Jobst, who retired after the 2024 season.

Marquette principal Brooke Rick said in a statement that the Academy is excited to name Drake Davis as its new head football coach.

“Coach Davis’ playing career at the Division I and Division II levels have established a high-level understanding of the game of football, and his strong work ethic and will to succeed will be pivotal in his contribution to the continued success of the Marquette football program,” Rick said.

“His coaching experience at the collegiate level at Northern Michigan University and with a very successful Princeton High School football program gives him a solid background to continue the success of the Marquette football program.”

Princeton coach Ryan Pearson was pleased for Davis even though it means losing a quality assistant.

“It’s kind of bittersweet. We’re sad to lose Drake, but at the same time we’re very supportive of his decision,” Pearson said. “He wanted to be head coach. He made it clear when he joined the staff last year he had aspirations of being a head coach and I said I will be more than happy to help you.

“Just super happy for him. We’re going to be Ottawa Marquette fans next year, because we want to see him be successful.”

Davis said it’s good to have a football mind in his dad he can turn to if needed.

“It’s good to have that in the family, because it’s somebody you can rely on and trust in when you got tough things that need to be answered and knows some of the things not every head coach thinks about. But your dad’s done it and got the experience and most of times the answers for it,” he said.

In his final season at Quincy, 2024, Davis started at quarterback in all nine games for the Hawks. He passed for 1,693 yards and 11 touchdowns while rushing for 128 yards and two touchdowns.

In his high school career split between Bureau Valley and Naperville North, Davis totaled 9,878 yards with 7,686 passing yards and 2,192 rushing yards. He accounted for 108 touchdowns overall, including 77 passing, 28 rushing, and three defensive scores.

He was a Three Rivers All-Conference player for Bureau Valley. As a senior at Naperville North, he was recognized as the DuPage Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year and named to the 8A All-State team.