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Harding football coach invited by Panthers Thomas Davis to Pro Bowl

By Gina Esposito, wsoctv.com
By Gina Esposito, wsoctv.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Nearly two months after the Harding University High School football team won the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 4A state championship, its head coach Sam Greiner will be attending Sunday’s NFL Pro Bowl as a guest of Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis.

“Thomas Davis is beyond a great football player. He's one of the greatest men I've ever met in my life,” Greiner said.

Greiner said he is humbled and looking forward to the Pro Bowl experience.

“Just to be able to represent him, as a coach at the Pro Bowl, is one of the greatest opportunities I've ever had,” Greiner said.

The NFL Pro Bowl will be televised at 2:50 p.m. Sunday on Channel 9, followed by Eyewitness News at 6. The Panthers will be represented by Davis, kicker Graham Gano and offensive lineman Trai Turner. Linebacker Luke Kuechly, who was originally selected to participate in the Pro Bowl, will skip the game because of an injury. 

The community has watched the Rams go from being the underdogs to top dogs.

Eric Ward, the school’s principal, said he is amazed by the success, which is now changing the lives of the players.

“A good energy that we are riding on right now,” Ward said.

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The team has faced lots of challenges.

Some of the players could barely get food, while others never thought they would be able to get into college.

When Greiner started at the school in 2015, he hoped to turn the football program around and transform the team into close-knit group.

He enlisted the Church of God to help provide pregame meals for the players.

He also grew close with the team’s quarterback, Braheam Murphy, who was homeless before moving in with Greiner and his family. Murphy is expected to attend West Point next year.

“It’s great that football can bring light on the school in a positive matter,” Ward said.

Inside Harding University, a display case holds the regional and state championship trophies the team won in December. In a few weeks, the players will receive their championship rings that Davis helped them afford.

As the school is still living off that high, the players are getting the opportunities they probably wouldn’t have without Greiner’s guidance.

“Big-name coaches are starting to come out and that's a great thing for the program,” Ward said.

This week, Greiner tweeted pictures of some of the visitors, including Jim Harbaugh, the head coach at Michigan.

Other coaches visited from Clemson, Penn State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, West Virginia, Toledo and UNCC.

“You know we won’t have big name athletes every year,” Ward said. “But, if the larger schools are showing interest, that also now bring the smaller schools, gives the students even more opportunities as well.”

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