Where are they now? All roads lead to Stephenville for former local football players

Story and photos by Allen David Photography

Daniel Greek, former quarterback at Liberty Christian School, and Ryan McDavid, former strong safety at Flower Mound High School, took different initial college paths but ended up transferring to Tarleton State University.

Tarleton is in Stephenville, about an hour and 45 minutes southwest of Flower Mound. The university was established in 1896, fielded its first football team in 1904, and is a founding member of the Texas A&M University system.

Greek, a 6’5”, 225 pound former high school three-star prospect (per ESPN, Rivals, and 247Sports.com), threw for 5,245 yards and 47 touchdowns in his high school career while playing for his father, Steven, who was the head coach at Liberty Christian at the time. Greek was recruited by Mississippi State in 2020 to play quarterback for legendary coach Mike Leach. However, after seeing no game action his first two seasons and the untimely passing of Coach Leach, he entered the NCAA transfer portal and quickly landed at Tarleton State.

I found Greek on the field after the game surrounded by his mom and dad, one of his two brothers, and his grandparents. I asked why Tarleton? Greek said, “I fell in love with the amazing coaches and players here, not to mention Tarleton is located close to family, which is something I really wanted to get back to.”

 

Greek says his biggest influence since arriving at Tarleton has been Quarterbacks Coach Adam Austin. “He’s a great man and coach, who’s pushed me very hard. He knows when to be stern, when to yell, and always looks you in the eye to tell you what to fix, how to fix it, and what you’re doing well,” Greek said.

Greek credits playing for his father at Liberty Christian for teaching him the value of constructive feedback, however it is delivered. Greek’s desire and belief is that he will play in the NFL. He is majoring in marketing, which he plans to use to pursue a career in insurance or real estate.

Ryan McDavid, a 6’-1”, 200 pound defensive back/linebacker, is a 2021 graduate of Flower Mound High School. During his varsity season with the Jaguars, Ryan averaged 4.0 tackles per game and had 10.5 tackles resulting in a loss of yardage for the opponent.

McDavid was recruited to play college football by Ouachita Baptist in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Now a member of the Tarleton State Texans, I met with McDavid for a postgame interview.

When asked why he chose Tarleton State as his new educational and football home, McDavid replied, “It’s close to home, and everyone here is so nice, it just feels relaxed and like family.”

McDavid credits his high school defensive backs coach, Coach Gray, with telling him that he was “going to be different,” His favorite high school teachers were Coaches Gray and Vardeman, as they were the two coaches that “had the most influence in this life.” McDavid also aspires to play in the NFL, and with his major in communications wants to work in the commercial or residential real estate industry.

With faith and family at the center of these two former Flower Mound area players’ lives, there appear to be no obstacles too challenging for them to overcome.