Jordan Davis boasts eight No. 1 songs, five platinum singles, and a highly acclaimed new album—markers that, in the music world, solidify his status as a legitimate superstar. But whenever possible on fall Saturdays, the LSU alum plays the role of superfan, putting down the microphone and donning purple and gold while tailgating before his Tigers hit the field.
Davis was once a high school quarterback, so he understands there are varying tiers of fame between music and football. While billions of streams may have earned him a spot on the Grand Ole Opry stage, on game day, Davis knows his ACM and CMA awards don’t quite stack up to the Heisman Trophies earned by fellow LSU alums Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels. He’s content, however, to use his song-making skills to perform his hits on those weekends when ESPN’s College Football Gameday rolls into Baton Rouge.
“Those guys are on a different level of knownness, as opposed to me,” he admits with a laugh. “Maybe one day I’ll get there, but I’ll still just enjoy being a fan and cheering for the LSU alumni.”
Millions of music fans have fueled Davis’ rise as a top-selling artist since his debut album, Home State, was released in 2018. And with age, his career is only getting stronger. In August, the singer dropped a new album, Learn the Hard Way, which features the No. 1 hit “I Ain’t Sayin’.”
Davis’ “Ain’t Enough Road” Tour also kicks off in September, a 17-stop run before he heads to the UK in early 2026.
“It’s the first time in a couple of years we’ve actually been able to tour a record,” he says. “The record just came out, so being able to go out and play these songs live for the first time can be special.”
At 38, while he watches some of his fellow college-era Tigers beginning to hang up their cleats, Jordan Davis is gaining strength—but getting and staying at the top of the country charts has taken a consistent training program. During his previous tour, Davis says he began feeling the physical wear-and-tear effects of the multiple sacks and scrambles from his days as an option-running QB—especially in his lower back. So, for the first time, he brought his trainer, Alex DeRiggi, on the road to help. The results were so successful—with little to no back pain—that Davis has kept the same regimen for 2025.
“It’s been a year now—I’m stronger than I’ve ever been, and my back problems have gone away,” he says.
While he no longer needs to throw the fade route—although every now and then the football fanatic gets the chance to talk pigskin with top NFL players at Nashville’s Tight End U—his recent work in the weight room has him as ready to get behind the microphone as he once was to get behind center.
“We do a lot of lower body stuff to keep me feeling athletic,” he says. “Anything from jumps, sled work, things that keep me feeling like an athlete. That’s been a big thing.”
Jordan Davis
Jordan Davis Keeps His Athletic Roots Planted To Stay Healthy
Davis’ affinity for football runs so deep that even with an upcoming sold-out tour, his popularity isn’t enough to clear up the confusion that sometimes happens in the Googlesphere. That’s thanks to his name being shared with the mammoth Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Jordan Davis—which often leads to mix-ups.
“It’s kind of funny,” Davis laughs. “People would look me up and think, ‘Oh, dude, he doesn’t look like he’s 6’6”, 320.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, because I’m not—that’s the football player.’ We were definitely getting mixed up in Google for a while.”
Davis’ platinum-selling career has become a backstage pass to the sports world—one he’s happy to use at every opportunity. In addition to meeting the other Jordan Davis while stopping in Philly, he’s met athletes like UFC star Michael Chandler during a Nashville celebrity softball game. Although he hasn’t met Daniels or Burrow personally, he has met Burrow’s parents and toured the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills facilities while on tour with Luke Combs.
“Being such a fan of sports, you know, being able to see that world, that I would not have been able to see if it wasn’t for music.”
But his loyalties lie with LSU. “I’m still very, very involved in all Tiger athletics.”
This past weekend, he proudly witnessed his Tigers’ 17-10 victory over Clemson. Earlier this year, he met both current LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and head coach Brian Kelly. As he approaches 40, Davis likes to talk about the superstars he watched as a student, including recently retired NFL stars Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu, admitting to a bit of “old man syndrome” when talking about the guys he watched while on campus.
“It’s weird, because it’s all the guys that are retiring now, so it’s kind of a check-in on where I’m at. It’s like, oh, man, I ain’t getting any younger,” he says. “I was in school with [Mathieu]—I remember seeing him out at the bars. It’s crazy that they’re closing their athlete chapter. But what a good run they had.”
When back home in Tennessee this past summer, he attended Tight End U, a camp led by NFL All-Pro tight ends Travis Kelce, George Kittle, and current Fox analyst Greg Olsen.
Reminiscing while embracing his inner athlete makes him feel like a fan. “It’s just so cool to get to hang with those guys and hear their stories—hear them talk about games that I remember watching. So it’s a cool kind of clash of worlds.” It brings back memories of his high school days as a senior signal caller for the Boyd High School Yellow Jackets.
When asked if he felt the need to throw the deep route at the event, he replied, “They could outrun my arm strength real quick. I may have been able to hit them on a hook route or an out. But, yeah, if Kittle got a full head of steam, I don’t know if my arm has got it to get it to him.”
Jordan Davis Is Both Hitting the Road and Hitting the Gym
Staying in top physical condition isn’t just about hitting the right notes each night for hits like “Buy Dirt” or “What My World Spins Around” on his upcoming tour. For Davis, sticking to his training has become a non-negotiable part of his routine, allowing him to electrify audiences for two hours a night without pain or fatigue.
He attributes his lower disc injuries to his days as a quarterback. “We ran the option, and I got beat up pretty good,” he says. “So I think a lot of that was maybe some of those hits coming back to ring the bell again in my late 30s.”
Helping Davis stick with his performance-building plan is DeRiggi, a martial artist and trainer who shows up at Davis’ house each morning at 6 a.m. to get the workouts started—and also joins him on the road when Davis needs a boost or a new city strategy. So far, DeRiggi has devised a year-round plan that eases discomfort while helping Davis perform more smoothly and energetically onstage.
“When the injury happened, I needed somebody out here to make sure I could go out and make the show happen. Once we got over it, it was kind of like, how do we go forward without this happening again? It’s been a year now—I’m stronger than I’ve ever been, and my back problems have gone away.”
Davis says DeRiggi’s focus on accountability has been invaluable.
“There’s no days off, you know,” Davis laughs. “We don’t get great sleep. There are a lot of days out here where it’s easy to say, ‘Ah, man, we’ll get back on it when we get back to Nashville.’ And I think that’s one of the most important qualities of any trainer: being able to grab you by the shirt and say, ‘Put your shoes on. We’re going to the gym.’”
The focus? Lower body strength and injury prevention, with Davis working out four days a week. “Seventy percent of our workouts are about being an athlete in some form or fashion—deadlifts, squats, hack squats, something dealing with strengthening my legs and lower back.”
What you won’t find—by Davis’ request—is any type of “fun” cardio. “I’m not a huge runner,” he says. “I told Alex, I’m not a guy who can get on a treadmill and run for 30 minutes. So he just took that as, ‘We’re going to do 20-yard sled pushes for four sets.’ That’s been super helpful in keeping my cardio up and being able to get through three hour-and-a-half-long shows a weekend and not feel beat on that last show.”
DeRiggi also takes care of nutrition, overseeing meal prep and protein intake—not just for Davis, but for the whole band. “He’s truly a top-down trainer, making sure that not just me, but my band and crew guys, everybody’s able to be as healthy as they can be to make this thing go,” Davis says.
And if all goes right and his back holds up throughout this tour, Davis says there’s a chance he may finally accept his trainer’s offer to roll on the mats. “I feel like it’s only a matter of time before he drags me into the jiu-jitsu world, which I’m totally cool with,” he says. “He’s super talented at it. I just feel like it’s a new kind of challenge, and would be fun to get into.”
Jordan Davis
Prioritize Your Health Early For The Long Game
As he headlines this fall’s “Ain’t Enough Road” Tour, Jordan Davis is well aware of the pressure that comes with having your name at the top of the marquee—much like what Burrow and Daniels will feel before the season opener. In the studio and the weight room, he’s worked to ensure that each night’s performance leaves fans satisfied and his body strong and healthy enough to put on an equally energized show the next night. “You want to go out there and make sure everybody leaves and feels like they got the show they deserved. We take that super seriously—a lot of rehearsal, a lot of tweaks, and trying to make sure that we’re putting on the best show we can.”
When he’s not pushing sleds, putting on the greens has become Davis’ latest quest for longevity. Staying fit means keeping the ball on the fairway, and golf has become an enjoyable struggle.
“I’m not going to slow anybody down on the course, but I’m still a long way from hitting the 70s,” he says, laughing. “So I got a little bit of work to do on the golf course.”
Davis’ admittedly questionable golf skills, however, were the inspiration for the ultimate tour promo: a YouTube video featuring him and singer Mitchell Tenpenny, along with another quarterback—NFL Hall of Famer Peyton Manning—and legendary CBS golf announcer Jim Nantz to promote his upcoming tour.
“I felt like it was something we could do to be funny, and hopefully get word of the tour out there,” he says. “And I had the legend of Jim Nantz in it, so that was pretty special.”
He rarely drinks these days, he says, and tries to avoid the post-show deluge of pizza and wings. DeRiggi is there to help with that. “I luckily kind of went after a more athletic mindset of touring, as opposed to the party side of it.”
Now a music veteran, it’s his turn to mentor up-and-coming artists, urging them to start healthy habits early. “Eventually you’re going to break down, so you got to get moving,” he says. “You got to go do something every day on the road—preferably lift weights or get in a gym. Go walk, go run, go play golf, but don’t ride the cart. Go walk 18. It’s been great for me.”
