Joe Dean Davenport warned Marvin Caston about his long beard and uncut hair over the phone.
“He said, ‘Oh, it’s not that bad. Let’s go do lunch next week,’” Davenport said of Caston after his former college teammate informed him he’d been selected as the honorary captain for the Razorbacks’ football game against Auburn.
But Caston couldn’t help but give Davenport a hard time about his appearance when they met up for lunch.
“He said, ‘Oh, that is bad,’” Davenport said. “Well, it’s too late. I already put your name down that you’re going to be there.”
Sure enough, Davenport made his appearance on the field prior to kickoff Saturday, looking like he was still in playing shape but sporting a haircut nothing like the shorter style Razorbacks fans grew accustomed to seeing while he played on the football and basketball teams in the 1990s. Turns out, there was a good reason for the lengthy locks.
“The girl that cuts my hair had a pregnancy, and she took like seven months off,” Davenport said. “So I just kind of grew it out. Somebody said I should grow it out for Locks of Love. I thought that sounded pretty easy. And I thought the beard complimented the long hair, so that’s why I grew it out.”
Two years later, the hair is close to being long enough to donate.
“I can always look back and say that guy never changed,” said Don Struebing, a fellow former Springdale High football player and current Springdale Har-Ber assistant coach. “He always followed his heart. He just did his own thing.”
Davenport’s hair got most of the attention when he was recognized Saturday, but his role as honorary captain provided him the opportunity to bring his son, Tripp, onto the field with him before the game. They then watched the game from the sideline, giving the 6-year-old an up-close-and-personal view of his first college football game.
“Seeing his reaction to all the people and the players on the field and how they hit each other, just watching him, made the whole night work out good,” Davenport said. “He loved the big blow-up Hog walking around.”
Tripp hadn’t experienced a college game in person before, but he’s already becoming adept at helping his father around their farm. Davenport’s home is on a 22-acre spread, and he also owns 260 acres of land south of Siloam Springs.
“I always wanted a farm and cattle and all that, because that’s what I grew up doing,” Davenport said. “You can ask anybody who grew up on a farm. That’s kind of what your roots are.”
Tripp has embraced his roots early, too, regularly accompanying Davenport on work days on the property. He even decided he was ready to handle part of the workload one Sunday in July.
“I had to go to the other side of the property, which is a mile,” Davenport said. “He said, ‘Hey, dad, I’ll just drive this tractor, and I’ll follow you.’ I had to go through a couple gates, so I said, ‘Are you sure you can drive it?’ He wanted to, so I put it in like fourth gear, and it went real slow.”
But Tripp wasn’t done when they reached the other end of the property. He wanted to stay on the tractor and bale some hay.
“I said OK, but I meant he could set in my lap and pull the lever to dump the bale or drive the tractor,” Davenport said. “And he said, ‘I can do it by myself.’”
And he did, working the tractor by himself and baling 44 bales that afternoon.
“He did a heck of a job for a 6-year-old,” Davenport said. “I was kind of a proud papa. I called people, and I sent the video I took around to everybody. It’s a pretty neat deal.”
Like father like son. Davenport also grew up on a farm, where he, like Tripp, wasn’t always interested in football or other sports.
“My dad would watch a little football, but me and my brother were outside playing or riding four-wheelers or chasing cows,” Davenport said.
That changed as he got older.
He starred on the football field and the basketball court for Springdale High in the early-to-mid 1990s. In football, he played key roles on both sides of the ball and earned a scholarship offer from Arkansas, which he accepted.
“He was real attentive to coaching and had a lot of talent,” then-Springdale defensive coordinator Kerry Winberry said. “He could run and move for a big guy. Had good hands, obviously. He was a good tight end. He was real quiet, but he was a competitor. I really enjoyed coaching him. He did anything you asked him to.”
Davenport went on to earn All-Southeastern Conference honors at Arkansas and played three seasons in Indianapolis with Peyton Manning in the NFL. Despite his athletic accomplishments, he has not pushed his son toward liking sports.
But there could be more Razorback football games in store for the future after the experience they had Saturday.
“Every year, the alumni association sends you stuff to buy tickets,” Davenport said. “But I wanted to buy some whenever he wanted to go and enjoyed it. I think now that he’s experienced it, he’ll enjoy going to some of the games and watching.”
The beard and long hair should be history by the time they go to a game next fall.