Quick Take
Santa Cruz native Ashtyn Davis is back home, hoping to extend his seven-year NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers. The former Santa Cruz High and Cal standout is competing for a roster spot as the 49ers prepare to cut their roster to 53 players.
For most of his NFL career, Ashtyn Davis has been a long way from home.
The Santa Cruz native spent five seasons with the New York Jets and last season with the Miami Dolphins. Now, the 29-year-old former Santa Cruz High School and UC Berkeley standout is back in the Bay Area, trying to earn a spot with the San Francisco 49ers.
The 49ers signed Davis to a one-year contract this summer, bringing him closer to the family and community where his athletic journey began. But his return comes with some uncertainty. San Francisco must reduce its roster to 53 players by Sunday, and Davis is competing for one of the team’s spots at safety.
“I think the biggest thing is just being a little bit closer to my family,” Davis said. “Family’s going to be able to come to some games now.”
Davis’ path to the NFL was anything but conventional.
Coming out of Santa Cruz High in 2014, he had no college football offers. He had primarily played wide receiver, but after his senior season, he turned to track. He qualified for the California state meet in the hurdles, and his coach, Bob Sanders, encouraged Davis to approach college coaches himself.
“Hey, my name’s Ashtyn. These are my times. Can I walk on at your school?”
Four schools responded. One was Cal.
Davis went to Berkeley as a track athlete and began contacting the football program.
“I just sent a bunch of emails to [administrator] Andrew McGraw up at Cal football, and he finally, after a couple of months, responded to one,” Davis said.
“I told him I played receiver,” Davis said. “He said, ‘Well, you can play [defensive back] if you want.’ So I was like, ‘OK, why not?’ I guess the rest is history.”
The decision changed his life. He turned down an initial track scholarship because it carried a no-football clause. After proving himself as a standout special-teams player and defensive back in his first season at Cal, he was awarded a full football scholarship ahead of 2017 fall camp. He went on to become an All-Pac-12 player, and the Jets selected him in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft, 68th overall.
Track had remained an important part of his story. At Cal, Davis won the 2017 Pac-12 championship in the 110-meter hurdles, and later earned All-America honors.
Growing up in Santa Cruz, Davis said he sometimes felt like an outlier because of his competitiveness.
“Santa Cruz didn’t take sports that seriously,” he said. “It’s a pretty laid-back town.”
His competitive drive came largely from his grandfather, who would play catch with him until the sun went down.
“He kind of made me believe that that was possible,” Davis said of his grandfather’s belief that he could succeed. “And then once I knew that it was possible, I’ve just always been ultra competitive and was like gonna do whatever I had to do to make that happen.”
With a smile, Davis added, “He kind of always had this vision for me.”
That mindset has followed Davis throughout an NFL career he describes as “rocky.” He has played in New York and Miami and accumulated 240 tackles, nine interceptions and 19 passes defended through the 2025 season, his sixth.
Now he is using that experience to mentor younger players.
“I’ve seen a lot of football and I study a lot of football,” Davis said. “Sometimes faster isn’t always faster. It’s being smooth and getting a good read with your eyes.”
The next few days could determine whether Davis gets another NFL season.
The 49ers’ safety competition has been one of the team’s notable roster battles, and Davis is considered a bubble player. Some roster projections have him making the team, while others have him being released. His experience and ability to contribute on special teams could work in his favor.
For Davis, the uncertainty is familiar territory. He has spent much of his career having to prove he belongs.
He did it at Santa Cruz High when college recruiters weren’t calling. He did it at Cal when he walked on to the football team. He did it when the Jets drafted him.
Now he has another opportunity, this time less than an hour from where he grew up.
Asked whether he feels extra pressure playing for his hometown team, Davis didn’t hesitate.
“No.”
Instead, he said he was excited and honored.
For now, he waits to find out whether he has cleared one more hurdle.
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