Months of speculation ended Tuesday as Ball State University junior quarterback Nate Davis announced he will forgo his final season with the Cardinals to enter the 2009 NFL Draft.
Davis - who holds the Ball State career passing records for yards (9,233), touchdown passes (74), pass attempts (1,124), pass completions (678), 250-yard passing games (20) and 300-yard passing games (9) - could have returned to the Cardinals for his senior season. Instead, he became the first Ball State football player to skip his senior season for the NFL Draft since Ball State's all-time leading receiver Dante Ridgeway in 2005.
Coach Stan Parrish said he supported Davis' decision at a press conference Tuesday.
"In the end it was his decision, and I support that decision," Parrish said. "I just want him to do the best he can and get drafted and go out there every Sunday so we got a Ball State Cardinal playing quarterback in the NFL. That's my fondest wish. That was his dream. He told me that when I recruited him as a high school player."
Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Tom Collins also said he supported Davis' decision to leave Ball State a year early.
"There's no question he can throw the ball," Collins said. "I've seen him make some amazing throws the last couple of years and you just hope he gets drafted by the right team that has some patience to put him in the right spot and make him successful."
Davis did not attend the press conference and could not be reached for comment. He made a statement in a press release that expressed his excitement about playing in the NFL and some regret about leaving Ball State early.
"My regret is taking on this challenge at this time means I am leaving Ball State with one year of eligibility remaining and without a MAC Championship," he said in the statement. "I have no regrets about leaving at this time without a college degree because I am confident I will return to campus to complete my degree."
Former Ball State coach Brady Hoke, who is now the head coach at San Diego State University, was unavailable for comment because he was in team meetings all day.
Davis' brother Jose Davis said he will train in Tampa, Fla., with former Arena League coach Steve DeBerg to prepare for the draft.
"He feels it's time to move on, Jose Davis said. "He has to do what's best for him and [his daughter] Mia."
Parrish said Nate Davis informed him of his decision to enter this year's NFL Draft a few days ago. The coach talked to him about the pros and cons of entering the draft before he made his decision, but he never advised him on whether he should return to Ball State, he said.
"He had more than enough information, and I'm sure on both ends of the spectrum," Parrish said. "All I tried to be was someone who if he needed advice could guide him, someone who could put it out in front of him. I certainly did not want to influence that young man. That would have been totally the wrong approach to have here because I would have had to have faced the consequences personally had his decision not worked out."
When he is drafted, Davis will become the latest in a line of quarterbacks Parrish has coached to make it to the NFL. Parrish has coached quarterbacks such as Brian Griese and Tom Brady and said he thinks Davis' arm measures up to those guys.
"I think he throws it as good as anybody I've ever coached," he said. "Obviously, there's more to it than that, but I said I think he's got those kind of skills, and I've been saying that for two years."
Parrish said he saw Davis' professional potential while he was recruiting him out of Bellaire High School in Ohio. The quarterback began starting for the Cardinals midway through his freshman season and was the team's starter since.
This past season Davis guided the Cardinals to a 12-2 record, including a 12-0 regular season, and won the Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year. He was the first Ball State quarterback to pass for more than 3,000 yards in a season twice in a career and was one of 10 finalists for the Manning Award, which goes to the nation's top college football quarterback.
"Selfishly, the head football coach here would love him to come back and play," Parrish said. "But I'm also a realist, and I've watched a lot of kids go through this process. It's agonizing. When you're 21, 22 years old, to have to make a decision like this is really difficult. But I think he did his homework, and the bottom line is he made the decision, and I'm all for the decision."
Teddy Cahill contributed to this report
Former MAC quarterbacks
Chad PenningtonPlayed for Marshall and the Jets drafted him in the first round. He starts for the Dolphins and was the 2008 Comeback of the Year.
Ben RoethlisbergerPlayed for Miami and was the Steelers first-round draft pick in 2004. He became the first MAC quarterback to win a Super Bowl.
Byron LeftwichPlayed for Marshall and was the Jaguars' first-round pick in 2003. He is now the Steelers backup quarterback and played in five games this season.
Bruce GradkowskiPlayed for Toledo and was the Buccaneers' sixth-round pick in 2006. He started as a rookie and now plays for the Browns.
Charlie FryePlayed for Akron and was the Browns' third-round pick in 2005. He started the last five games as a rookie and was traded to the Seahawks in 2007.
Charlie BatchPlayed for Eastern Michigan and was the Lions' second-round pick in 1998. He has played 11 NFL seasons and is on injured reserved with the Steelers.
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