Auburn Iron Bowl hero perseveres to reach the NFL

As he scrolls through the contacts in his phone, Chris Davis Jr. stops at the listing for his mother, Janice Brown.

She's not entered as Mom, Mama or Janice.

Davis Jr., Auburn's Iron Bowl hero who made who made one of the greatest plays in sports history — the Kick Six, has a different title for the woman who raised him and his three siblings: My Love.

There is no telling how Davis Jr. would have labeled the entry for his father. Maybe it would have been Dad, or Pops, or perhaps simply Senior.

But Christopher Lynn Davis Sr. never had a cell phone for his son to call. He never got that chance.

Davis Sr. was murdered, gunned down while playing a game of pool with Brown's brother, Michael, at the Avondale Gameroom in Birmingham on Sept. 24, 1992, when his son was just two years old.

"I never got a chance to see him face-to-face, that I can visually see how he looked," Davis Jr. said. "I never got that chance."

There's no doubt Davis Sr. would have been at the Iron Bowl to see his son, who added Jr. to the back of his jersey before last season. He did it to honor his late father after Brown told him he "forgot his name."

Now because of that play, his name will be defined in college football forever.

A father, who would have been incredibly proud, could've joined his mother, Julia Mae Davis, who was in tears as she hugged her grandson on the field at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Nov. 30, and sat with Brown. She had to leave early as her three-year old grandson, Chris Davis III, fell asleep before his dad ran 109 yards into Auburn lore.

Davis Jr. made a defining moment in his life and the lives of countless others in the state of Alabama and the entire sports world, but the first defining moment in his life came when he was so young, he can't remember.

Now another life-changing moment has happened for Davis Jr., who enters the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the San Diego Chargers after not being among the 256 players selected during this weekend's NFL Draft, which concluded Saturday afternoon.

He embarks on a pro career with the hope of being able to provide for his family, including his son and "My Love."

"I try to be a great father to my son. That's what I look forward to doing in life," Davis Jr. said. "I never forget why I'm doing this. My family is one of the biggest reasons I'm doing this ... to take care of my family."

Brown couldn't contain the emotions at the thought of how her family's future might soon change.

"It will be a blessing, for what we've been through … Lord," she said, taking several moments between sobs.

"I just am getting a little teary eyed," Brown continued, pausing before hanging up the phone to collect herself for a minute. "It's going to be a big life change, especially for Chris, and I'm just so happy because he deserves it. He deserves every bit of it."

Fan from behind bars

Davis Jr. will have countless Auburn fans pulling for his success at the next level.

As will Alabama Department of Corrections Serial Number 164103, Ralpheal Ramon Bimbo, who is serving a life sentence at Limestone Correction Facility for his role in the murder of Christopher Lynn Davis Sr.

"I guess you can say I'm his biggest fan," Bimbo wrote from jail, "and he doesn't know it."

It felt like a "normal day, like any other day" Bimbo writes of the Thursday night that would forever change the lives of the Davis family.

The admitted drug dealer knew Davis Sr. and Brown. They lived in the same Avondale housing projects.

It's what makes the events at about 8 p.m. that night even more difficult for Brown to understand.

"(Bimbo) used to come to my grandmother's house, my mama's house," Brown said. "We were all close."

Davis Sr. had some sort of personal conflict with Bimbo's supplier, a Harlem, N.Y., drug dealer, according to both Brown and Bimbo.

Why the disagreement escalated is unclear, but Bimbo's partners in crime were intent on violence and growing restless.

"They were getting tired of waiting," Bimbo writes.

Davis Sr. went to shoot pool with Brown's brother, Michael, at the Avondale Gameroom on 4108 Airport Highway, an industrial stretch of road only a few blocks from Hayes High School, where Davis Jr. would go for his freshman and sophomore years before the school closed in 2009.

Christopher Lynn Davis Sr. did not return home. He was just 23 when he died, the 103rd homicide of the year in Birmingham.

According to the next day's Birmingham News, which quoted a Sgt. LaFaree King-Walker, the gunman walked up to Davis and shot him at point-blank range in front of several witnesses.

"There's got to be a reason for that; you don't just walk in and shoot somebody like that for nothing," an unnamed man is quoted as saying in the Sept. 25, 1992 edition of the Birmingham News.

Brown's phone started ringing. It took her less than 15 minutes to get there.

"I couldn't believe it when it happened until I got there," she said. "That's when it hit me."

She became a single mother of three young children, including two-year-old Davis Jr.

Birmingham Police investigated and arrested Anthony Embry and Falanda Miles.

Embry pled guilty in May 1993 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Miles was acquitted during a May 1994 trial after disputing accounts of his whereabouts that night.

But Brown did not believe justice had been served. She knew others were involved.

"Some of the stories that they were telling, it didn't make sense to me," Brown said. "Some of the young men involved in that, we were like family, we was close."

It wasn't until March 1997 that Bimbo, who was already serving a federal sentence for a money laundering charge, was indicted along with Louis Griffin, a member of a Harlem street gang who admitted to taking a part in the murder as part of a guilty plea to a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) case in April 1996.

They were found guilty in separate trials, though Griffin appealed, was retried and acquitted. He is serving a 30-year federal sentence at a high security federal penitentiary in Florence, Colo., stemming from the RICO case.

After Griffin's guilty plea, Embry's conviction was vacated and he was released from prison.

It wasn't until after the trials that Brown felt closure but it took her "years" to get past the tragedy.

She and several members of her family have corresponded with Bimbo since. She has forgiven him.

"It's not good for you to hold grudges against anyone," Brown said. "Something like that is kind of hard to forgive, but you just have to. That's the only way you can move on forward with your life."

It was harder for Julia Mae to move on. She lost her other son a year later, Brown said.

That pain, combined with Davis Jr. looking so much like his father, was unbearable at times for his grandmother. She'd upset him at times with all the talk of his father.

"My grandma kind of made me stop wanting to come around, because every time I came around, she used to talk about my dad," Davis Jr. said, "and it used to bring tears to my eyes."

Brown understood how devastated Julia Mae was.

"It was like, when she looked at my son, he looked so much like his father, she couldn't take it," Brown said.

Davis Jr. credits his mother, his aunt Michelle Brown, and Edith Brown, his grandmother on his mother's side, with raising him

"They taught me a lot growing up," he said, "and right from wrong was one of the things they taught me."

That guidance served Davis Jr. well when he encountered plenty of bad influences while growing up.

Early beginnings in sports

Davis Jr. starting playing football when he was seven and also starred in basketball while at Hayes, playing with former Kentucky guard Eric Bledsoe, now with the Phoenix Suns.

He transferred to Woodlawn his junior year where he played for Bruce Breland.

"He was definitely different. He removed himself as far as not hanging around or allowing peer pressure to influence him in those ways," Breland said of his former star running back and defensive back. "Chris was always the one in the forefront saying you need to be in class, be where you are supposed to be. He didn't say a whole lot so when he did say something, other kids would be more than likely to listen."

Breland knew the Davis family's hardship and was as supportive as possible, though it was rarely needed. Davis Jr. was never really a problem for the veteran coach.

"There's a lot of kids that have a lot of talent and they don't get to that point, I think it says a lot about him. It makes me very proud of him," Breland said. "Of course the NFL is fantastic, but not just getting drafted but the fact of what he overcame to do that, not his skill level but we're talking about (not having a father), to the school environment, to all the influences that were on him to be unsuccessful, and he overcame all those. That's what's tremendous."

It was around the time Davis Jr. finished high school and began his time at Auburn that Bimbo wrote to him to apologize and say he'd been following his football career.

"He told me he followed me through high school," Davis Jr. said. "He hopes everything work out well for me. He said he'd been reading about me from football. I don't hold no grudges. I forgive him for coming forward and apologizing to me."

Davis Jr. flourished on the field and had "the favor for the glamour," as Breland put it. "He always had that air about him, he made big plays."

It was sign of things to come.

Stepping up as a senior

Davis Jr. arrived at Auburn for the 2010 BCS National Championship season. He played in all 14 games but was injured on the opening kickoff of the title game.

He coped with injuries throughout his college career, including two games last season.

Being named the defensive captain for his senior season was an honor that meant the world to the cornerback

"I know he kind of felt he wasn't getting a lot of recognition before this year," fellow corner Jonathon Mincy said. "Him being recognized as one of the leaders on the team, I know that's big for him."

Recognition will never been an issue for Davis Jr. again.

After lobbying to return punts for years, he got his chance and was among the most prolific returners in the country.

"He wanted to return punts," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. "He made that very adamant with us. So I'm glad our coaches gave him an opportunity."

Yet when it came time for Adam Griffith to attempt a game-winning 57-yard field goal with one second left in the Iron Bowl, it was Ryan Smith who was sent back in case the kick was short.

The Auburn coaching stuff mulled things over during a timeout and decided Davis Jr. should be the one in the back of the end zone.

Never has a personnel decision with such little time on the clock had such an enormous impact.

Once Griffith kicked the ball, Davis Jr. could tell it was going to be short. He caught it and took off for immortality, blowing by 11 Alabama players.

"I don't know what he looks like, I never got to see his face," said Alabama punter Cody Mandell, who was the holder on the Kick Six and the player closest to impact Davis Jr.'s path to glory. "I just like to have fun with it. It happened, there's nothing else I can do."

Once he passed Mandell, Davis Jr. had Mincy leading him to the end zone and Robenson Therezie at this side.

"By the time he got past the 50-yard line, I just started backpedaling," Mincy said. "I just wanted to see everything."

Initially mad to be replaced as the deep guy, Smith, Davis Jr.'s roommate, ran around with his helmet off in a state of disbelief.

Malzahn was momentarily stunned.

"He went by me, I looked back and there's no flags and I said 'Wow, we just beat them that way,'" Malzahn said.

It took one second and 109 yards to dethrone a dynasty (100 yards officially), to go down in history and to set off complete pandemonium on the Plains.

Inside Limestone Correctional Center, 211 miles north of Jordan-Hare Stadium, Bimbo watched the Iron Bowl. He was happy to see Davis Jr., the boy whose father he helped have killed 21 years earlier and whose career he followed ever since, make a incredible play.

"As I'm sitting there watching the ending of the game, watching Chris Jr. return the miss(ed) FG for a touchdown brought a big smile to my face," Bimbo wrote. "All I was telling the other inmates, that's my homeboy, that's my homeboy."

Taking care of his responsibility

Chris Davis Jr. the father is even more impressive to his former Auburn teammates than he is as a football player.

"He's a great father," Dee Ford said. "He's also a great friend to his son. It's an amazing thing to see."

Having his son on the field with him after the SEC Championship Game was also special to Davis Jr.

"I never had a dad to be right there to grab me and tell me good job," he said. "For my son to be out there and witness it, words can't explain it. I love my son to death."

Davis III likes to play video games and watch his dad play. The three-year old tries to mimic his father's moves.

"Seeing how young he is and he's there for his child every day and he makes tremendous sacrifices," Mincy said. "That's something that you have no choice but to respect from Chris Davis."

It's those private moments, away from the TV cameras and microphones, that teammates are blown away by.

White, who also has a son, grew very close to Davis Jr. over the years and called sees him as a "role model."

Jermaine Whitehead thinks fatherhood is the best aspect of Davis Jr.

Being there for his son and making as many lasting memories as possible is what matters most to the admittedly "still growing" father.

"It probably came from him not having a father that he puts so much love into his little fella," Brown said

Return always on people's minds

No matter where Davis Jr. has gone since the Iron Bowl, the Kick Six comes up.

"It comes with making a play like that, but I'm just trying to stay humble," he said. "There's more to Chris Davis to come."

Leading up to this weekend's draft, he spent most of his interviews trying to remind everybody of his skills on defense, where he made 74 tackles and had 15 pass breakups for the Tigers last season.

He'll no doubt have to answer more questions about the play once he gets to San Diego as well as questions about his size. Measuring in at 5-foot 9 3/4 inches put Davis Jr. toward the small end of the cornerback pool in the draft but his 40 1/2-inch vertical jump at Auburn's Pro Day was among the highest by corners.

It will be a challenge to make a squad as an undrafted free agent, though 31.4 percent of the 2,026 active players in the NFL last season were undrafted, according to the league.

Davis Jr. has overcome every obstacle thus far though. He's been able to avoid the pitfalls so many others fall victim to, dealt with injuries, and a small frame.

Now Davis Jr. has his eyes set on not only being an NFL player, but providing for his family.

"If you see a smile on Chris' face, I think it's much a part of that as it is the fact that I'm playing at the next level," Breland said. "The fact that he can provide, that he can bring his family out of those situations."

The league minimum salary for rookies is more than $400,000 this season. So if Davis makes the cut with the Chargers, or ends up with another team, he can go a long way to improving the lives of his son and his "love."

Brown knows Davis Sr. would be very happy his son has reached this stage.

"The little time he had with him, he loved him so," Brown said of Davis Sr. "And I know today he's looking down and he is so proud of him."