Former Clemson All-American linebacker Jeff Davis and his wife, Joni, were blessed with four daughters. But they wanted to have a boy as well, so they kept trying.

Not only were their prayers answered, but on June 17, 1996, Joni gave birth to twin boys — J.D. and Judah Davis were born one minute apart, with J.D. the oldest.

Twenty-one years later, the Davis brothers are junior linebackers for the defending national champion Clemson Tigers, and they remain as close as ever.

“Playing with my brother is one of the reasons why I play,” J.D. said this week.

J.D. and Judah are both starters on special teams, while J.D. is coming off of a game against Virginia Tech last Saturday in which he recorded a team-high 11 tackles — the same number of tackles he had in 15 games last season.

J.D.’s efforts in Clemson’s 31-17 win earned him the team’s 12th-man award, which is given to a player that shows excellence coming off of the bench. It was a career-best performance for J.D., who is starting to carve out a contributing role on the Tigers’ defense, but he knows he can’t get complacent — his brother wouldn’t let him, anyway.

“It’s just cool having him beside me, keeping me grounded, saying hey, you have to do better there or hey, you did great there,” J.D. said. “He’s just being very supportive of me, and that’s huge for my confidence.”

Virginia Tech wide receiver Cam Phillips (5) runs the ball against Clemson linebacker J.D. Davis (33) during the fourth quarter at Lane Stadium. Davis had 13 tackles in last week’s 31-17 win. (Lee Luther Jr.-USA TODAY Sports)

Like many twins, J.D. and Judah have been almost inseparable all of their lives, and their experiences together on the football field have only strengthened their bond.

One of J.D.’s fondest memories with his brother was made three years when they were seniors at Daniel High School. J.D. returned an interception for a touchdown, while Judah forced a couple of fumbles and had “like three sacks.”

“It was just great being able to both play well together,” J.D. said. “Just being able to play together is probably my greatest moments with him.”

The Davis twins weren’t highly touted as recruits coming out of Daniel, just two-star prospects with Clemson as their only offers. So naturally, there were critics in the stands who wrote them off and believed they were handed a scholarship from Clemson based only on their father’s legacy.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney couldn’t disagree more with that line of thought. In fact, he thinks they would have been heavily recruited had their parents not enrolled them in school early.

“I don’t know why Jeff and Joanie started them in school early. I have no idea,” Swinney said. “I told them, from when I first met them, I was like why did y’all start school…? But he was like hey, when you got six kids, you get them in school as soon as you can — four daughters and you got two little twins, you’d better get their butt in school.

“So they were way ahead of themselves. Had those guys been on the normal track, they would have been highly recruited as seniors — highly recruited, because they were just developing guys and I saw that.”

Swinney, though, saw what others didn’t and knew exactly what he was getting in J.D. and Judah. After all, Jeff and Joni were his neighbors, and he watched their children grow up before his own eyes. The Davis brothers were and still are best friends with his Swinney’s sons, Will and Drew.

Swinney is seeing his belief in the Davis twins pay off. J.D. is providing competitive depth in the linebacker corps, and Judah is a valuable member of the Tigers’ special teams.

“Sometimes you see things other people don’t see,” Swinney said. “We don’t have two better winners on this team than J.D. and Judah Davis, and they earned their opportunity here.”

“Judah’s in a little different spot and has got a little more depth in front of him, but Judah can play and would probably be starting for a lot of schools right now,” he added. “They’re exactly what I’d hope they would be.”

Swinney admits he still has a hard time telling J.D. and Judah apart because of how much they look alike. He has ways of identifying them on and off the field, such as the fact that Judah has a beard, and J.D. wears No. 33, which rhymes.

Swinney needs no help telling what kind of people they are on the inside, though. He knows without a doubt that he has two student-athletes who embody everything he wants his players to stand for.

“They’re great young men. These are like my fourth and fifth sons, literally,” Swinney said. “They’re just great young men that represent everything that you would want every young person to represent, and are going to do great things in their football and in their futures.

“No telling what those two guys are going to do down the road.”