After a true freshman season that earned him CAA offensive Rookie of the Year honors and secured multiple program rushing records, Villanova sophomore running back David Avit decided to enter the transfer portal.
He received a few FBS offers, he said, specifically from Stanford and the University of South Florida. The Wildcats were expected, if not prepared, to lose their star running back before he even completed a year of school on the Main Line.
However, Avit decided to withdraw his name in December, weeks after he entered.
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Villanova was where he believed he belonged.
“The second I got in the portal, … I was like, “What am I doing?” Avit said. “I genuinely love being here. There was nothing wrong with it. And I just thought maybe explore my options, but then when I did that, it made me realize how good Villanova was for me.”
Last week, Avit suited up in blue and white for Villanova’s conference opener against Monmouth. He rushed for 135 yards and three touchdowns, picking up right where he left off.
He’ll look to do much of the same when the Wildcats host William & Mary this Saturday (3:30 p.m., FloSports), a team the Wildcats haven’t beaten since 2019.
‘Childlike wonder’
It was not the first time Avit chose Villanova over FBS programs. In high school, he was recruited by the University of Akron, Navy, and USF.
“I was talking to my parents, they told me about Villanova’s education,” Avit said. “I probably couldn’t pass up on it. I love playing football, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t last forever. So I was really trying to get my education from a school like Villanova.”
As a freshman, Avit played in all 14 games, rushing for 923 yards and nine touchdowns. It set the program record for most rushing yards in a rookie season. He was 17 when he arrived on campus and did not turn 18 until 12 days before the start of the season.
He also became the eighth player in Villanova history to score four or more times in a single game against Stony Brook. In the same game, he ran for 183 yards, shattering a 46-year-old rookie program record.
“Imagine if you gave a five-year-old a lot of candy. That’s David,” special teams coordinator and running backs coach Joshua Fletcher said. “It’s good, bad, and different. Sometimes it’ll be at meetings, and he’ll just ask the most random question. He’s got, like, a childlike wonder about everything.”
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Coming off a record-setting and award-winning season, there are now eyes on Avit. He set a standard for what he is capable of, and now this season, many fans expect the same, if not more.
“I feel like there’s a lot of hype,” Avit said. ”Maybe some people even call it pressure, but I don’t feel pressure. I feel like I just [have to] ball every game and do what I do. I was reading all the articles and getting into all this stuff people were saying about me, I was flooding up my head, but now it’s really just about the team and getting these wins.”
Shortly after Avit eclipsed 1,000 collegiate rushing yards following the Wildcats’ game against Penn State on Sept. 13, the program recognized the milestone on social media.
Avit was not impressed.
“I really should have hit that last year,” he said. “Honestly, I wasn’t really impressed. It’s cool, but it just is a testament to what the [offensive line] does. Like, they really make it easy for me out there.”
His game against Monmouth last weekend was no different. Avit led the team in rushing yards and total touchdowns. Those stats meant nothing to him. The team did not earn the outcome they wanted: a victory.
“He has, for the right reasons, a short memory,” Fletcher said. “If he messes something up, he understands to have a short memory. Good or bad. If we don’t win, it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, all that personal stuff, all those personal accolades are great, but in the game, they want to win. I think he’s really embodied that.”
Avit’s teammate, sophomore running back Ja’briel Mace, broke away for a 30-yard rushing touchdown against Monmouth that was ultimately called back due to a holding call. A quick look at the Villanova sideline and Avit was cheering on his teammate, and he was the first person to talk to Mace as he came off the field.
“No one was more hyped for Ja’Briel than David,” Fletcher said. “David was like, ‘Listen, you’re gonna get that back. It’s coming.’”
The team is always first in Avit’s mind. For him, if the team is successful, his success will follow.
Avit currently has 237 rushing yards and three touchdowns this season, averaging 79 yards per game. However, to him, that is just a glimpse of what he believes his potential is.
“I feel like if you’re satisfied, you’re going to become complacent,” Avit said. “You’re just going to be comfortable where you are. And the whole point is to keep reaching for something more. Like, if I hit 2,000 [rushing yards], why should I hit 3,000? I just got to keep going. You can always be better. There’s always someone better than you, and I’m chasing that person.”