PHILADELPHIA — Corey Davis’ ankle injury doesn’t compare to the things he saw growing up.
However, that doesn’t make it any easier.
“I come from little-to-nothing,” he said. “There’s nothing harder than that.”
The Western Michigan receiver was born on the West Side and moved to Wheaton. He and his six siblings struggled with poverty and neglect; he moved in with a friend’s family while at Wheaton Warrenville South.
“All my siblings, we stuck together, we made it happen,” he said. “It was definitely tough, but if you want something that bad, it’s not gonna come easy.”
NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock thinks he’ll be drafted between picks 20 and 32.
Davis might have gone higher were it not for the ankle surgery in January. Davis, the Division I career receiving leader with 5,285 yards, wasn’t able to run at the combine or on his pro day.
“That is real frustrating,” he said, “It’s tough because I can’t influence teams or GMs one way or the other, in terms of my draft stock.”
Mayock called Clemson’s Mike Williams an Alshon Jeffery clone, Washington’s John Ross a speedster and Davis a combination of the two.
“I’m a Corey Davis fan,” he said. “I think the ankle has just made it more cloudy.”
Davis said his ankle is fine — “I’m ready to play right now,” he said — and he’s anxious to learn where he will be heading.
“It’s not really a fear of failing — I just want to see success so bad,” he said. “I don’t really want to go back to the things I’ve seen.”
Follow me on Twitter @patrickfinley.
Email: pfinley@suntimes.com
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