LITTLE ROCK — When Forrest City receiver Davyon “Sleepy” McKinney needs advice, he doesn’t venture far from home.
McKinney’s mom, Doris Banks, provides comforting direction for her talented son.
“He and I have a very open relationship,” said Banks, who as a single parent raised Davyon along with an older brother and sister. “He can come and talk to his mom about anything, personal matters, school, whatever is on his mind. He can feel free to come talk to his mom. In the end, I’m all he has.”
It’s no surprise that Banks and her son collaborated on one of the biggest decisions in the playmaker’s young life.
McKinney made an oral commitment to the Razorbacks after attending Arkansas senior high camp in June, based largely on the fact his mother was sold on the Hogs after accompanying her son on the trip to Fayetteville.
“More importantly, I want him to be a student first and an athlete second,” Banks said. “That’s the one thing Arkansas talked about to keep him grounded. That’s something that’s very important to me, because he has a choice to play ball and that’s something he was gifted with. But he can really grow with an education behind him.”
McKinney’s journey to becoming a Razorback started in youth football, proceeded through junior high before culminating in his senior year for the Mustangs.
“It’s an overwhelming feeling,” Banks said. “It really makes me feel proud that this young man from the small town of Colt really has a chance. Davyon has a good chance to live his dream. His dream is to play in the NFL.”
Looking back, McKinney said he sees now how his mother sought male role models for him in his youth.
“She got me involved in baseball so I could be around the coaches and have like a father figure,” McKinney said. “I got used to it, and it seems like I get close to every coach I’m around. Every coach is like a father.”
Anyone who encounters McKinney is usually greeted with a gracious smile he credits to his mother.
“I always tell him if you smile at the world, the world will smile back,” Banks said. “No matter what he’s goingthrough, I want him to keep his head up and smile.”
McKinney made his mother smile when he got a part-time job at a fast-food restaurant so he could purchase schoolrelated items, such as school photos and a class ring.
“I’ve seen her working three jobs,” said McKinney, who started the four-day-aweek job about 13 months ago. “I told her. ‘Momma, I need to get a job to help you out.’ That’s why I ended up working at Burger King. I had to help my momma.”
Forrest City Coach Rich Trail attests to the strong mother-son bond.
“They’re real close, very tight,” Trail said. “She’s a great person. It certainly doesn’t take long being around Sleepy to know what a good job she’s done with him. It’s just one of those things you know that he cares about his momma.”
McKinney said he hopes to play at the highest level in order to afford an easier life for his mother.
“Every athlete wants to get to the pros,” McKinney said. “For me, getting to the NFL would be big and I could help my momma out. She’s struggling, and I want to see her not have to worry about anything and not have to work.”
Ironically, McKinney’s infectious smile and outgoing personality were somewhat of a hindrance at work recently when dealing with young females as a cashier.
“I’m in the back cooking,” McKinney said. “They told me to get on back because I was holding up progress.”
McKinney being relegated to the back doesn’t surprise his mother.
“He is a good flirter, I’ll say that,” Banks said. “He’s a charmer with the ladies.”
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Sports, Pages 30 on 09/26/2010