When he gets the ball, Brother Rice’s Jameson Davis creates a sound and fury all his own.

The junior running back has a musician’s natural feel for rhythm and touch — how to build up a sense of joy, discovery and self-expression. It’s something that he gets from his father.

“My dad’s a bandleader who has been in music his whole life,” Davis said. “Everybody in my family are either athletes or musicians — or both. I always had music around me. I’d walk around with a little staff in my hand, pretending to be a drum major.

“Ever since I got here, my focus now is on football.”

That focus showed Saturday night as Davis ran for 106 yards and scored two touchdowns in the Crusaders’ 42-18 win over St. Charles North in a Class 7A state quarterfinal game in Chicago.

Davis scored TDs on runs of 36 and 31 yards for Brother Rice (11-1), which plays host to Downers Grove North (10-2) at 4 p.m. Saturday in the semifinals. The Crusaders are seeking their first trip to the state championship game since 2018.

Brother Rice’s Jameson Davis (21) breaks into the secondary on a run against St. Rita during a nonconference game in Chicago on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. (Vincent D. Johnson / Daily Southtown)

While Davis has 656 yards on just 72 carries this season, Saturday’s performance was a season high for him in rushing yards. He’s averaging a gaudy 9.1 yards a carry in a timeshare role.

He typically alternates every possession with senior running back Jaylin Green, the starter who leads the Crusaders in rushing with 782 yards and 15 TDs. The two complement each other.

“We’ve got good chemistry,” Green said. “His style is different from mine. He showed it with how he broke off those two touchdown runs. We definitely gain confidence from each other.

“He does well and it fires me up to go out there and do the same.”

Brother Rice’s Jameson Davis (21) sprints away for a big gain against St. Laurence during a nonconference game in Chicago on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. (Vincent D. Johnson / Daily Southtown)

Senior quarterback CJ Gray gets an up-close look at the dynamic between Davis and Green.

“Of course, they want to play every series, but when they do get in, they’re rested and they’re fresh,” Gray said. “They understand and they don’t have an attitude about that.

“Jameson’s a hard runner with speed. It’s great to have a guy like him who’s very physical between the box and can also use his speed and get to the outside edge.”

Last year, Davis was a sophomore in his first varsity season for Brother Rice, working as part of a three-back rotation. The opportunities were even more limited then.

Brother Rice’s Jameson Davis (21) sees running room to the ouside against Marist during a nonconference game in Chicago on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Troy Stolt / Daily Southtown)

He also recognized his chances were connected to development and growth.

“Nothing is promised or guaranteed in this game and you have to work hard for everything,” he said. “We had Ty Lofton, who’s now at Illinois State, and I learned from him and Jaylin.

“We have this healthy competition. We go back and forth. When it’s time to be in there, I want to show what I can do. I’d describe my style as a physical runner with the speed to break away.”

Growing up in a small rural town in North Carolina, Davis found that football was a bridge, easing his cultural and social transition at the start of his freshman year when he moved to Chicago.

Brother Rice’s Jameson Davis (21) runs the ball through the middle against Marist during a nonconference game in Chicago on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Troy Stolt / Daily Southtown)

Although football displaced his early musical interests in playing the drums or trombone, Davis retains his fondness for musicals. Everything from the classics like “Singing in the Rain” to Broadway productions like “The Wiz.”

The 5-foot-9, 185-pound Davis has the frame, sprinter’s explosiveness and power to be effective either running between the tackles or getting outside. He plays with flair and a purpose.

And he knows where he wants to go.

“Every time I see open grass or the maroon colors of our end zone, I just turn on the jets,” he said, then continued on about his teammates. “I spend almost twelve months out of the year with them.

“Just being around these guys means a lot.”

Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/18/jameson-davis-brother-rice-ihsa-football/