Kainoa Davis is a 6-foot-4, 285-pound defensive lineman from Temecula who spent the past year attending the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Davis entered the spring transfer portal when it opened two weeks ago. He now will be attending college 2,300 miles closer to home. Davis signed Saturday afternoon with San Diego State.
Most of SDSU’s defensive linemen are juniors and seniors, so Davis’ four years of eligibility brings more balance to the classes. He is the second player plucked from the portal in recent days by the Aztecs, who also signed Syracuse offensive lineman Kalan Ellis this week.
Crucial to landing Ellis was SDSU offensive line coach Mike Schmidt’s relationship with the guard from Schmidt’s two years as offensive line coach at Syracuse. Aztecs assistant coaches David Lose and Rob Aurich also got to know Davis during a previous coaching stop, recruiting him two years ago out of Santa Ana Mater Dei High School when they were coaching at Idaho.
When Davis’ name popped into the portal, they renewed acquaintances.
“They hit me up right away,” Davis said. “They showed love to all my family, my mom, my brother, my dad. They made me feel like I was part of the brotherhood already, from me just going on the (official) visit.
“It’s also close to home, so that was a big factor. … I’m beyond excited. I’m going to love it there.”
Davis has enjoyed his time at Charlotte, but the situation changed there after the 2024 season.
“The coaching staff that recruited me got let go,” said Davis, who stuck around for spring practice. “I talked with my parents and we thought it was best to explore my options in the transfer portal.”
Davis did not appear in a game last season for Charlotte, but said his practice film impressed the SDSU staff.
“They loved how twitchy I was,” Davis said, “how explosive I was at the point of attack, how I could stop the run and how I could also defeat the blockers in the rush.”
Despite his youth, Davis believes he can contribute this season.
“I definitely think I can make an immediate impact,” he said, “just from me getting all the knowledge and experience from my last school and all the older people over there at UNC Charlotte. I gained a lot of knowledge, gained a lot of football IQ. I really do think I can make an impact this year.”
