It was the biggest moment of Nate Davis' life, and anxiety filled him to the brim. The emotions were almost too much for him to absorb at one time. Sweat dripped from his body. His heart raced. He digested the reality that awaited him.
Quite frankly, Nate was scared speechless.
Doubt crept into his mind, making his thoughts spin in a confused mess. Nate knew what was expected of him, but he wondered how he could measure up to the impossible demands he was about to face.
Nate recaptured his nerve when heard his daughter's first cry.
"When she was born, it felt like I had another part of me out there," Nate said. "It felt wonderful to have my own child. It was scary at first, but when she was born it brought tears to my eyes. I just started crying because I couldn't believe she was mine."
Nate's fans are enamored with his on-field theatrics, but he serves a higher calling than Ball State University's quarterback. It's an aspect of his life many outside his family, team and close friends aren't aware of. But Nate said his number one priority in life is taking care of his 2-year-old daughter, Mia Davis.
"I look at myself as a great father," Nate said. "The football thing is just another thing. I go out there and just try to be a great father. I take more pride in being a father than anything on the field."
A FAMILY HUDDLE
Every detail in Nate's life was falling into the perfect plan.
He had less than four months until his graduation from Bellaire High School in Bellaire, Ohio. His athletic ability secured a football scholarship at Ball State. He had caught every break, and the sky was his limit.
Two words from his high school sweetheart, Elizabeth Porier, brought him back to earth.
"I'm pregnant."
Nate's world stopped as his head started to spin. The easy road he traveled suddenly presented an obstacle as tall as Mount Everest. For a split second, the unshakable, star quarterback froze.
"I didn't know what to think," Nate said. "I was just wondering what I was going to do. I was very scared, but I knew I had to step up and face it. I just had to do the best I could."
Nate waited two days before he broke the news to his family.
His mother, Linda Davis, couldn't believe what she was hearing. Nate was a kid at heart, she said, not a person prepared to raise a child.
Linda said she wanted to let her anger free, but she knew it wouldn't help the situation. So she did the only thing she could - focus on the positives.
"I said, 'OK, we're going to make this work, and we're going to deal with it the best we can,'" she said.
If telling his mother was difficult, informing his older brother was worse. Jose Davis, who is 10 years older, keeps close tabs on his younger brother from his home in Pittsburgh. He talks with Nate at least every day, conversations ranging from grades and football to everyday life. He never hesitates to give Nate a piece of his mind.
Jose said he can predict the conversation's tone based on the way his brother contacts him. If Nate calls, Jose knows his brother isn't hiding anything. But if he gets a text message, it's because Nate is worried about how he'll react.
Nate was right to fear his brother's response when he sent a text message reading three words - "Liz is pregnant."
"I wanted to kill him," Jose said. "Just because, there was too much responsibility for him at that time. I didn't want him to carry that big responsibility. I didn't think he was ready to be a father at all."
Nate had experience caring for young children. He often baby-sat his 6-year-old nephew, the older of Jose's two sons. The job taught him how to hold a baby and change a diaper. He understood children break fragile objects, and babies love to chew on everything.
Jose told his brother none of those lessons prepared him for having his own child. When it's your own child, he said, you don't have the luxury of handing them back to the parents.
"If they're yours, and that baby wakes up at 3 a.m., and they're crying, then you've got to get up and be right there with them," Jose said. "Mia's not like a basketball or football that you can lay down then move on."
Like his mother, Jose's anger was temporary. After a couple days to stew, he gave his brother unconditional support. But Nate still had to face his recruiter, Ball State offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Stan Parrish.
Nate worried how Coach P - Parrish's pseudo name among the players - would handle the news. Coach P engrained the importance of character as he recruited him. Nate knew responsibility is perhaps the most important tool of any college quarterback. How would it look for him to father a child out of wedlock? Could his scholarship be in jeopardy?
Nate was relieved when Coach P accepted the situation. Even more, Coach P told Nate being a father was the most important thing he'd ever do.
"A lot of people don't own up to responsibilities and aren't truthful about responsibilities," Coach P said. "The fact that he stepped up, to me, that was the only option. He stepped up and had no excuses."
A FRESHMAN FATHER
On a brisk, fall day in Ann Arbor, Mich., 110,000 football fans packed the stands at Michigan Stadium ready to watch their No. 2 Wolverines destroy an unknown, upstart Ball State team. Instead, they saw a freshman quarterback wreak havoc on Michigan's vaunted defense.
If the fans in maize and blue were perplexed with Nate's poise during the Cardinals' 34-26 upset bid, the bigger mystery was how he could concentrate long enough to call a play in the huddle. Less than two days later, Nate was at Wheeling Medical Park in Wheeling, W.Va., awaiting the birth of his first child.
"I thought I was going to pass out," Nate said. "I didn't know what to think. I couldn't sleep that night. I was more nervous than I've ever been in my life."
Nate paced the delivery room as he anticipated his daughter's birth. He did what he could to help Elizabeth through her delivery as he tried to keep his insides from churning.
Then he saw Mia take her first breath, and all his apprehension melted away.
Linda said she's never seen more emotion from her son than when he welcomed his daughter into the world.
"He was right there the whole time," she said, "and he was just a proud daddy."
Nate spent a few hours with his newborn daughter before it was time for him to go back to Ball State. Jose said coaxing him to leave the hospital that night was more difficult than raising his spirits after a loss.
Nate said his good byes, kissed Mia on the forehead and left knowing his life would never be the same. He returned to campus, but his heart stayed in that hospital room.
"When he had to go away to school, I think it really hurt him a lot," Jose said. "He knew she was his baby, and it kind of let him down a little because he had to leave."
Elizabeth lived in Athens, Ohio, during Nate's freshman year, and he struggled with the four-hour distance between him and his daughter. He called Elizabeth often and spoke to Mia so she could hear her daddy's voice, but he said those phone calls were never as fulfilling as the time he spent with her during the few visits he could make.
Nate didn't want a four-hour drive to keep him from watching Mia take her first steps or hearing her first words. Elizabeth moved to Muncie last year, and even though the two aren't together anymore, they maintain a close friendship. More importantly, Nate said he's able to spend time with Mia whenever he can break away from his other obligations.
"Whenever I want to see her I can see her," he said. "It's a great thing because if not, it would be a bad situation. You'd never get to see your daughter, you'd have to take her to court, and that's not the way I want to live."
AN ALL-AMERICAN DAD
For a man constantly judged through statistics, Davis refused to become one.
Numerous studies indicate approximately 70 percent of black babies are born out of wedlock. In most instances, they have limited, if any, contact with their father.
The future's uncertainty didn't vanish with Mia's birth, but Nate didn't allow it to prevent him from accepting the responsibility to be present in her life.
"I think about my daughter in everything I do," he said. "She comes first in every decision I make."
It's a challenge for even the best student athletes to manage their time. Being a parent makes the task even more daunting.
Davis has more obligations than studying opposing defenses or chemistry notes. He also has to schedule baby-sitters and push Mia on a swing after grueling three-hour practices.
"From the time he got out of high school, I've seen a very big change in him," Linda said. "He's more mature mentally and even more so when it comes to Mia. That's his number one priority. He makes sure his daughter is being taken care of."
Besides Porier, perhaps Nate's biggest helper is fifth-year senior receiver Louis Johnson. The two have been best friends since Nate arrived at Ball State in 2006. Nate stayed at Johnson's apartment on his official visit to campus, and he's roomed with him for the past year.
Johnson promised Nate to always be there for him and his daughter.
"The way I look at it, I say she's my goddaughter," Johnson said. "It's kind of funny to say, but I love her almost like he loves her. It's just like when you have a close friend, you're going to be protective of that person. Anything they need, he knows I'm going to be there for him."
Johnson isn't the only Cardinal who looks after Nate and his daughter.
Coach P counsels his young quarterback on how to be a successful father even more than the finer aspects of the game. Senior tight end Darius Hill views Mia as his niece and often accompanies the two on their favorite father-daughter activity - fishing. Defensive captain Brandon Crawford, the team's 32-year-old elder statesman who calls Nate a little brother, encourages him to be the best father he can every day.
The devotion Nate gives his daughter earns his teammates' respect more than his skill on the field.
"It's a tremendous feeling for me to see him take care of his daughter like that because a lot of people don't," Crawford said. "She loves him to death, and he's always there for her no matter what. He wants her to be a big part of his life, and I think that's a big commitment for him."
It hasn't been easy for Nate to travel the road his life's taken during the past couple years. There are days he wonders how he juggled all the demands he faces. No matter how hard times get, he said, his spirits always lift when he looks down and sees his daughter's smiling face.
"It always makes it a great day when you see your daughter's face," Davis said. "It puts a smile on my face every time I see her. I love my daughter more than anything."
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