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Barrington's Davidson a study in excellence

Barrington's Johnny Davidson is the epitome of how preparation and hard work can translate into success.

Considered undersized for quarterback at 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, Davidson has shown that size really doesn't matter.

Davidson, who is a senior this season, was handed over the reins to the Broncos last year at the beginning of the season.

"There were a lot of questions in that off-season about him," Barrington coach Joe Sanchez said. "We saw what he did what he did as a sophomore on that team, but you really don't know how that will translate. He prepared extremely hard in the offseason."

With the hope that Davidson would just manage the offense, Davidson went out and completely exceeded those expectations. He threw for over 2,500 yards and 25 touchdowns and just 5 interceptions while leading his team to a 10-2 record before the Broncos bowed out in the state quarterfinals at Glenbard West.

"There definitely was a lot of pressure and high expectation," Davidson said. "I was just trying to prove myself and earn the respect of teammates."

Davidson showed how that respect worked last year, spreading the ball around to a talented group of wide receivers like Scotty Miller, Mitch Pfeiffer, Seamus Moran and Dylan Bingham, who were all seniors.

Sanchez said he was impressed on how Davidson developed so quickly.

"Last year, what he did as a first-year varsity player was pretty remarkable," Sanchez said. "A lot of that was due to his preparation and the preparation of our offensive coaching staff. It certainly helps when you throw to the receivers we had last year."

Davidson credited his teammates along with film study for his and his team's success.

"I was working hard do as much as possible for the team to succeed," Davidson said. "We all worked as hard as we could to get as far as we could."

Davidson showed how much he wanted to be a varsity quarterback as soon as his sophomore season had ended. Davidson sought out offensive coordinator Pat Wire to watch film. But it wasn't film of himself that Davidson wanted to review.

"He came to me and wanted to watch film of Daniel Kubiuk, who was our quarterback that past season," Wire said. "He wanted to watch film and get a feel of the varsity offense that he was going to play with the next season.

"I thought it was remarkable that he sought me out to do that."

Davidson would meet with Sanchez, Wire and other coaches during his free time during the school day to watch film.

"He would get the film and we would meet and talk about the offense," Wire said. "He always took the initiative. He arguably is the most studious player I have ever coached."

Davidson said that film study was critical to his preparation and success.

"Every day during my off periods at school and then after school, I would go home and hand watch film," Davidson said. "Most of my week is spent on homework and watching film. I learned to be fully prepared. The harder it is in practice, the easier it is in the game."

Sanchez said that all that hard work paid huge dividends each week for Davidson and the rest of the Broncos.

"He made the right decisions with the ball," Sanchez said. "A lot of that was preparation of his part."

Davidson got his start when he played youth football in Barrington. After playing running back in his early years, he was moved to quarterback by Jeff Wine and went on to lead his team to a championship in the TCYFL.

"Coach Wine was the first to play me at quarterback," Davidson said. "I got a feel for playing quarterback at a young age. It was so much fun, and we still keep in touch with coach Wine."

While the pressure on Davidson to succeed was great last year, it may be even greater this season. He won't be able to sneak up on teams anymore as a relative unknown. Also, his group of wide receivers has all graduated, leaving him with an entirely new corps that had just 2 receptions in total last year.

But none of that seems to faze Davidson, who went to work on the 2015 season as soon as last year's season ended.

"If anything, he may be working even harder in this offseason," Sanchez said. "He has a new group of receivers to work with and he is trying to establish some chemistry with. He has been doing a real good job with those guys and trying to get them feel comfortable with him."

Jake Zyzda, Logan Moews, Jack Nicoletti, Paul Lee, Mac Molli and Josh Babicz have been working with Davidson at wide receiver. And Davidson is working to build a rapport with his new group.

"It is definitely different," Davidson said. "Last year's group, they were nearly all three-year starters with a lot of experience. Our guys this year are new and unproven.

"But I feel just as strong about them as I do about last year's group. I have as much faith in them as I did with last year. We are all working well together and looking forward to another great season."

College scouts have been slow to come around to Davidson because of his size. Since he has over a 4.0 grade point average, he is hoping that the Ivy league or the Pioneer League will show some interest in him.

"I want to be as best as I can be in the classroom," Davidson said. "If your grades slip so does your playing time."

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