Houma native enjoying collegiate success
October 7, 2014
Gray woodturner reveals nature’s true colors
October 7, 2014
For Nicholls State senior linebacker Davin Bovie, nothing comes easy.
Certainly not the injuries and the adversity Bovie has had to overcome in his four years at the school, which includes a torn ACL sustained last year, and more recently his team’s dreadful 0-5 start to this season – a period that has seen the Colonels lose their head coach due to health issues and lose ball games by scores of 44-16, 73-7, 27-10, 77-3 and 52-18, respectively.
Still, Bovie continues his fight every Saturday on the football field, even amid some of the worst times in the Nicholls program’s history.
After all Bovie has been through, why quit now?
“Football is like a mirror of life,” said Bovie. “You experience adversity in life, too. You just have to pick yourself up and keep going.”
Indeed, Bovie has been picking himself up since last year when he tore his ACL against Southland Conference foe and in-state rival McNeese State. He missed the final four games of an otherwise solid season that saw him finish second on the team in tackles.
Prior to that, the former standout at Riverdale High School in Jefferson first came to Nicholls in 2011 and made his presence known immediately, playing in all 11 games as a true freshman.
After starring in all 11 games again as a sophomore, Bovie was poised for a big year his junior season and was well on his way to having one before the ACL injury occurred.
He says he wasn’t initially sure how he would play once he healed, but he feels he’s come back as strong as ever.
“The doctor told me, ‘You’re either going to come back better or come back worse,’” recalls Bovie. “I feel like I came back better. I came back more mentally strong than I was before. I watched more film, and I read more things than before. I feel as though it was a blessing in disguise.”
Not many players would say that after suffering one of the toughest, most grueling setbacks an athlete can sustain, but Bovie maintained a positive attitude throughout the rehab process and used the injury as an incentive to get better.
“I used it as motivation to come back strong. I knew my team was going to need me (in 2014),” he said.
At a time when the team has struggled mightily and the Colonels’ defense has continued to give up points at an astonishing rate, Bovie’s play has been a rare bright spot.
His leadership potential was on display throughout most of last year and even this season. Through the first five games of the season, Bovie ranked second on the team in tackles with 36 with 21 of his stops being solo tackles.
He may not be a vocal presence necessarily, but Bovie has shown the ability to lead by example, said Nicholls defensive coordinator Steve Adams.
“Some guys don’t lead with their words, they lead with their actions, and that’s Davin,” Adams said.
Despite all that’s gone wrong for the Colonels’ defense as a whole this season, Bovie said he feels the defense is more bonded this year, and he hopes that will finally pay off in the long run once the team gets into conference play this weekend.
“Last year, we were all getting to know each other,” he said. “We were just teammates. Now we’re friends and we look to each other more. There’s more camaraderie now.”
And in his final year of college ball, Bovie knows it’s up to him to set a good example for the rest of his teammates. He did that in the season-opener at Air Force back on Aug. 30 by finishing with a team-high 11 tackles, and has remained an active force whenever he’s on the playing field.
He followed up that performance by making five stops against North Texas, following a 13-tackle game against Henderson State – his season best for a game.
“That’s something they expect from me and something I expect from myself,” Bovie said.
Despite his size (5’11, 180 pounds), Adams said Bovie has all the intensity of someone more in line with a prototypical college-sized linebacker.
“He plays like a 230-pound linebacker,” said Adams. “He’s not a real vocal guy, but everybody feeds off of how physical he plays, how explosive he is, and his intensity.”
Bovie will be looking to lead a turnaround for the Colonels’ defense beginning this Saturday when the team hosts Stephen F. Austin in Thibodaux.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at John L. Guidry Stadium.
Controlling the Lumberjacks will be no easy task. SFA started the season winning three of its first four games.
Offense has been a big reason for that outburst, as the Jacks have scored 35 or more points in all of their wins.
The team’s first loss is nothing to be ashamed of, as SFA opened the season against Kansas State, falling 55-16 to the Top 25 team.
They rebounded to open Southland Conference play in a 38-3 thrashing of Incarnate Word.
Nicholls linebacker Davin Bovie (28) makes a tackle during the team’s win against Northwestern State University last season. The Colonels’ defensive leader is a true testament to hard work and dedication. He has recovered from a torn ACL injury to become one of the team’s top tacklers this season. He now hopes that success translates into wins for the struggling team.
