UAB Freshman Linebacker Braxtyn Davies Publishes Children’s Book

By Steve Irvine

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - February 4, 2026

Perhaps it was a step outside their comfort zones, but that didn’t stop Braxtyn Davies and his younger brother Brysen from adding something new to their personal resume.

Braxtyn, a redshirt freshman on the UAB football team, and Marshall University football signee Brysen each added children’s book author to their resume with the release this week of ‘Braxtyn & Brysen and the Backers Football Team.’

“Growing up, we had to read like 30 minutes a day at our house,” said Braxtyn, a 6-foot, 215-pound linebacker, who came to UAB as a preferred walk-on and just finished his first college season. “We’ve loved football our whole lives, so we were kind of thinking that it was kind of hard to find a football book when we were younger. Personally, we weren't huge fans of reading, I suppose, so we kind of like forced each other to read. We thought if we make this book, it's, educational and talks about real-life skills like leadership. It gives the kids something to read where maybe if they love sports or love football or just love the mascot of Blaze or the mascot of Marshall.  It gives kids a reason to read and kind of enjoy it in that way.”

Work on the book, which is recommended for early readers, ages 4-8, began over Christmas break with Braxtyn writing copy for his character, the fire-breathing dragon, and Brysen handling the copy for the bison. They hired an illustrator to help them with the book. The story teaches children about kindness, speaking up and leadership, according to promotional material.

“It kind of shows this player on the screen (at the stadium), who is the dragon,” Braxtyn said. “He breathes fire unexpectedly and kind of messes up plays or messes up what's going on for other players. All the other players were making fun of him and didn’t want him on the team anymore, which is very common in real life for that type of situation. The other main character, the Bison, steps up and tells all the players and tells the other character, the Guerrilla, who in real life is our trainer Jamaine (Edge) of ATL Football. They kind of talk and they're trying to figure out ways where that player who you think may be messing everything up for all the other kids can actually help in the game. It's kind of like a leadership role from the Bison to come step up, be a leader in that way and teach the other players that you can bring each other together and everyone belongs and can be a strength.”

By the conclusion, the Dragon finds his role.

“At the end of the book, it kind of talks about how big the Dragon becomes,” Braxtyn said. “He would breathe fire for the entrance. After every touchdown he would breathe fire for a celebration and everyone would kind of go crazy.”

Working on the book together comes naturally for the Davies brother. Braxtyn is just over a year older than Brysen and a year ahead of his brother in school. However, for much of their life, people have called them ‘The Twins’. Both played linebacker throughout their football life and they combined for 235 tackles in Braxtyn’s senior season at Northgate High in Newman, Georgia. Last season, Brysen set a school record with 179 tackles.

“We’re always looking for new things to help us grow and just learn as much as we can,” said Braxtyn, who is a civil engineering major.

For Braxtyn, the book project was even more special because of a friendship he developed with Noah Johnson, who was his match during the annual Children’s Harbor game at UAB.

“I read to him before,” said Braxtyn, who is also very active in UAB football’s community service opportunities. “It kind of motivated me to be able to see how it kind of changes the perspective of kids at that age. Me and Brysen talked. We sat down and agreed that the first copy of our book would go to Noah.”