Artavion Davis is the leading wide receiver in Texas high school football with 1,183 yards in seven games. Why haven’t you heard of him? He plays on the Houston Milby Buffaloes, a program that hasn’t had a winning season since 1999. He also had five catches for 146 yards the entirety of last season. 

Granted, that stat is misleading. Davis missed the first four games of his sophomore year after moving in from the Katy area. By the time he cracked the game-day roster, Milby’s quarterback already had a go-to guy in Isaiah Washington, the District 10-5A DI Newcomer of the Year. 

Milby graduated 23 of 30 players from last year’s team, which was the first to make the playoffs since 2000. Davis worked all offseason to become the answer for a roster with so many questions. He sprouted from 6-foot-0 and 160 pounds to 6-2, 180 in a year. He worked with Washington on cone drills after practice and became attached at the hip to Milby’s new sophomore quarterback, Gabriel Gutierrez. 

In the season opener, Houston North Forest’s defense double-teamed Washington, unaware that a new star was born in the offseason. Davis caught 13 passes for 352 yards and five touchdowns. Last year, Milby ran the ball 75 percent of the time. But from that moment, offensive coordinator Chris Barrick decided his offense would run through Davis and Washington. 

“Tae and Isaiah, these two together are like Batman and Robin,” Barrick said. “Anytime I need a first down, just throw them the ball.” 

Davis is an enigma in many ways. He emerged seemingly out of nowhere, at a program that’s won two playoff games since 1926.  But he’s also a superstar without the typical superstar’s personality.

“If he’s not getting the touches early in the game, I’m like, ‘Hey, just be patient. It’s coming,’” Barrick said. “He’s like, ‘Man, I don’t care, Coach. We just scored.’”

From the outside, it’s hard to understand how Davis is doing this. He has good size, good speed and good hands. But none of his physical traits scream, “That’s a future NFL player.” It’s the things you can’t measure, like his work ethic, which are head and shoulders above the average high school kid. 

Just the other day, he approached Barrick in the weight room and asked how he could get more teammates to throw with him, Washington and Gutierrez after practice. That explains how he’s able to drift a couple of yards off the designed route toward open space, keeping defensive coordinators up at night wondering how no one can cover him. 

Davis has had the goal of playing college football since he was four years old, and treats every time he touches the ball as a chance to earn an offer. He averages over 17 yards per catch, even though many of his receptions are bubble screens, shrugging off defenders that he’s hungrier than.

“I’ll readily admit he’s not the fastest guy on the field,” Milby head coach Matthew Puente said.  “He probably doesn’t have the highest vertical and isn’t the strongest guy on the field. But the work and commitment he puts in - to do the things that he can control - is what sets him apart.”

That energy is infectious. Milby has four wide receivers on its varsity, rotating in freshmen to have a full practice. Instead of teasing them or simply ignoring them, Davis demonstrates to them how to break off certain routes to take advantage of a defender’s leverage. 

Milby’s quarterback, Gutierrez, was a baseball player making his first varsity start this season. Davis walks to every class with him to talk about football strategy and runs routes with him after practice. When Gutierrez scored his first rushing touchdown last week, Davis and Washington were the first to celebrate with him. Gutierrez has thrown for over 300 yards per game and 26 touchdowns this season because he knows the team’s stars have his back. 

“Coach Puente came to me yesterday at practice and said, 'Man, Gabe [Gutierrez] has really changed from spring ball to now,’” Barrick said. “He’s got zip on the ball. He’s throwing with confidence. Part of that is he trusts his receivers.”

In a way, Milby’s offense is built on trust - whether that be the quarterback knowing his receiver will be in the right spot, or the wide receiver knowing the coaches have his best interest at heart. Barrick and Puente have both tweeted numerous times this season about Davis, posting his stats and highlight tapes for college coaches to see. 

“I know I can’t do this by myself,” Davis said. “I need help from all of my coaches. It means a lot for them to be helping me and even thinking about trying to get us to college.”

Milby has a proud tradition — many of the teachers are alumni of the school, including principal Ruth Peña and baseball coach Carlos Morales. This is a place that takes care of its own. And while the football program may not put out as many five-star talents as other teams, players like Davis are changing the narrative of inner-city football, one touchdown at a time.

“Milby is not a place that jumps immediately off the page for football,” Puente said. “But it can be done, and it’s being done here. The inner-city of Houston ISD has a shadow placed on it right now outside of sports, but there’s still a lot of good stuff going on here and we have great kids here. Artavion is a small piece of what’s happening in our area.”