Brysen Davies, Northgate linebacker
Today’s interviewee is Northgate linebacker Brysen Davies, who had 10 tackles, intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble for a touchdown in his team’s 35-21 Region 3-5A victory over Coweta County rival Newnan last week. Northgate is 4-0 for the first time since 2016. Davies, Northgate’s leading tackler, committed to Marshall last week.
1. Talk about the Newnan rivalry. Why is it big? What did the win mean for the team? “The city of Newnan has three high schools – Northgate, Newnan and East Coweta. For most of us, we all grew up together, played youth football, went to the same middle schools, then went to different high schools. It’s competitive, but it’s respect too. Our fans and student section were electric from pregame to postgame. This win was personal for us, and we feel we beat Newnan at their best. Northgate has been the underdog in the city, projected to go 0-10 and, quite frankly, written off. We have been building this program out in the open, but now everyone’s forced to take notice.”
2. What gave you the edge? What was the game plan, particularly on defense to stop Newnan's passing game? “Mindset was our edge. We all agreed that we were going to aggressively suffocate their offense for four quarters regardless of the score or the outcome. Our D-line dominated the whole night, making the quarterback [Brodie Campbell] uncomfortable and making him step up or out of the pocket. Newnan’s quarterback and his weapons are great players. They created a buzz in their East Coweta game when he threw for 500-plus yards. Newnan’s quarterback hadn’t thrown an interception all season. He threw three on Friday night. That’s a testament to our D-line and our secondary. Coach Jamaine Edge is our new D-line coach and is creating dominant tactical players in our three-man front with heavy rotation. Our linebacker coach, Coach [Terry] Franklin, moved one of our running backs to Mike linebacker week one. Brice Jarvis had never played linebacker. This speaks to our culture, Coach Franklin’s coaching and Brice Jarvis accepting the challenge. Everyone stepped up on defense and made big plays. Free safety Keaton Stigall had a critical punt block that resulted in a TD too. Defense supported the offense, and offense supported the defense. I’m most proud of our team staying together throughout the night. We made mistakes, but we picked each other up and attacked the next opportunity.”
3. Head coach Kevin Whitley came in last season, and the team really struggled, finishing 2-8 after a 7-4 team in 2023. Now, you're probably the best you've been in your time there. How do you explain the turnaround? “When Coach Whitley came in, it was culture shock for most. Coach Whit immediately started building a program. He wasn’t here just to coach a team. My sophomore year, several key players graduated that season. Coach Whit came into a very young and inexperienced varsity team. Fundamentals and mindset take time to build. The staff that Coach Whit brought into the program has been critical. Our staff hasn’t wavered from the standard that has been created. A lot of growing pains in this process. Last season, my brother, Braxtyn [now at UAB], and I had to step up our leadership in the locker room to get players to buy in and outwardly set a player standard. Combined, Braxtyn and I had 254 tackles last year. We knew we had to make up for that production this year and have other players be more productive. We have a ton of young talent and size on this team, but our staff had to develop them mentally and fundamentally. We didn’t get a single transfer. In fact, we lost two starters that were college-recruited. We’ve built this and are still building it under Coach Whitley. This team hasn’t peaked yet. The sophomore class is stacked with varsity starters that were thrown into the fire their freshman year and responded very well. This win is about the future of this program, and it will be exciting to see what they accomplish in the coming years.”
4. How did your decision to commit to Marshall come about? “I committed to Marshall last week. I have been communicating with the linebacker coach [Jake Ellsworth] for several months and got to spend three days around the staff, players and campus on my official visit. My recruitment has been a long journey. I received an offer after my freshman season, but then it slowed down after I suffered an avulsion fracture. Since coming back from that injury in ninth grade, I have trained two to four days a week on the field and in the gym six days a week for three straight years. I never missed a single day of training, and, ultimately, last season it really picked up and I had the opportunity to get to know a lot of great coaches and great programs. I felt the staff at Marshall was the best fit for me and my continued development.”
