Albany State names JD Davis starting QB for FAMU opener

ALBANY — Jeffrey “JD” Davis won Albany State’s quarterback job Saturday.

His first assignment? Try to beat the quarterback who used to have it.

Davis, a former Grayson High School standout who played at Alabama A&M last season, will start for the Golden Rams when they open the season Saturday night against Florida A&M in Tallahassee.

And if David Bowser’s first game as Albany State’s head coach needed another storyline, there are plenty waiting on the other sideline.

Former Golden Rams coach Quinn Gray now runs the FAMU program. His starting quarterback will be Isaiah Knowles, who followed Gray to Tallahassee after leading Albany State to a 12-2 season and a deep NCAA Division II playoff run last fall.

So Albany State begins a new era Saturday against two of the most important figures from its old one.

Bowser settled his own quarterback competition following Saturday evening’s second scrimmage, choosing Davis over a group that battled throughout preseason camp.

Davis played at Western Michigan before transferring to Alabama A&M last season and now gets another opportunity at Albany State.

Bowser said the decision came down to what he saw when the pressure increased.

“He showed the most poise and consistency during the last two scrimmages,” Bowser said.

The other quarterbacks did some good things, Bowser said, and he expects Albany State fans could see some of them as the season progresses. But for the opener, the football belongs to Davis.

FAMU had a quarterback decision to make, too.

That one went to a player Albany State knows particularly well.

Bowser has studied the Rattlers on film and wasn’t surprised Gray ultimately chose Knowles.

“I believe Knowles earned that spot because of the chemistry between Knowles and Gray,” Bowser said. “He has been with Coach Gray for three years and knows that offense really, really well. I’ve watched film and there are really talented quarterbacks on that team, but I think Knowles knows the offense better, and that was the difference.”

There won’t be much mystery for Albany State about what Knowles can do.

The Golden Rams watched it firsthand last season.

Knowles directed an Albany State offense that helped the Golden Rams win 12 games and make a deep postseason run before transferring when Gray left for FAMU.

Now Albany State has to figure out how to stop him.

But Bowser’s focus throughout the preseason has been less about what Albany State lost and more about what the Golden Rams have become.

And this is a very different football team.

Albany State has approximately 140 players on its roster, many of them newcomers. Only 75 will board the bus for Tallahassee, leaving Bowser with some of his most difficult decisions of the preseason.

And some difficult conversations.

“It’s not about saying you’re not good,” Bowser said. “It’s about who we felt gave us the best chance to win. Next week the ball may bounce a different way, so things could change, but we had to select those who we think would help us win.”

Youth apparently wasn’t a disqualifier.

Six freshmen on defense earned spots on the 75-man travel roster.

Preseason All-American defensive end Derrick Drayton, one of only two returning starters on defense, will anchor a unit Bowser believes made significant progress during camp.

Bowser said Drayton “had a great camp” and also singled out safety Evan Wynn and former Dougherty High standout Chauncie Brown.

Linebacker Jimmie Dawson, a Thomasville product, also impressed the new coach.

Offensively, Bowser pointed to starting center Ty’Orice Brown, running back Rod McCrary and tight end Omarion Dupree, a transfer from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, among those who have distinguished themselves heading into the opener.

Talent, though, hasn’t been Bowser’s only concern.

With so many players arriving from different programs and backgrounds, turning a collection of newcomers into a team has been one of Albany State’s biggest projects this summer.

That work continues Tuesday night, although there won’t be a football in sight.

The Golden Rams are going bowling together at Albany’s Fun Park, another attempt to build the chemistry Bowser believes has developed steadily throughout the summer.

Saturday night, they’ll find out how well it travels.

“I’m excited,” Bowser said. “I believe we have got everything covered in all three phases of the game. I don’t want anything to catch us by surprise. Now we just have to play hard, play smart and play physical.”

There will be plenty familiar about what Albany State sees across the field in Tallahassee.

Gray knows the Golden Rams.

Knowles knows them, too.

Albany State knows both of them.

But Saturday isn’t really about the team Albany State used to be.

It’s the first opportunity to see what Bowser’s Albany State is going to become — with a new head coach, a new starting quarterback and a roster filled with players getting their first chance to define this version of Golden Rams football.

For Bowser, there is no ambiguity about how he’d like that era to begin.

“There is only one good outcome,” he said. “And that is to win.

“It will be good to get this first game under our belt and know what we have to do to move this team and our program forward.”