HawaiianCowboy
04-12-2005, 10:51 AM
This article appears to confirm our assumptions that Davis is more SS than FS. Although the thought is intriguing, we don't need another Roy.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=678&e=3&u=/usatoday/20050412/sp_usatoday/georgiasdavisfunctionsasdiversesafetyvalve
By Larry Weisman, USA TODAY
Safeties often think of themselves as heat-seeking missiles. They like to blow up receivers and running backs and love it when they've got an unsuspecting victim in the crosshairs.
That's the nature of the business and the part that Thomas Davis seems to enjoy the best.
The University of Georgia junior ranks atop most boards as the outstanding free safety, and he is anxious to take his place in the NFL among the other big hitters.
"I feel like I'm ready to take on an offensive lineman if need be," Davis says.
Davis doesn't fit the classic free-safety mold. He's more comfortable playing closer to the line of scrimmage, as a strong safety would, and less at ease roaming in deep coverage.
At 6-1, 230 pounds, he could easily play the strong side or even get a look at weak-side linebacker.
"I feel like the coverage will be a question, because a lot of the times at Georgia, we were mainly used coming down in the box or basically just playing zone - we weren't playing a lot of man (coverage) at Georgia. So I think that will be a question that comes up, but I feel like I'll show teams that I'm capable of doing it. I have the speed to go out and cover," he says.
Sticking his nose in against the run just feels a little more natural at this point.
"I'd rather be that safety that comes down in the box, fills the gaps where needed," Davis says. "They're talking about using a lot of the bigger safeties at linebacker. Just given what a team needs, I'll be willing to go anywhere and play anything."
He has a history of that. In high school at Randolph-Clay in Shellman, Ga., he played running back, receiver, quarterback, defensive end and defensive back. He also returned kicks, kicked and punted.
The only Division I college that recruited him was Georgia, and the Bulldogs told him to forget about offense. But there was one part of it he would always remember as he grew into his role as a hard-hitting defensive back - the reticence of some players when it came to contact. "The safeties in high school," Davis says, "didn't even want to tackle me."
Davis has the height to handle tight ends running down the middle and the speed (4.6 in the 40-yard dash) to cope with backs and receivers.
That's not the part of the game that gets his juices flowing, though. If the three-year starter and all-SEC first-team safety wants to emulate any NFL player occupying his position, it is Dallas' Roy Williams. He knows exactly what he likes about the way Williams plays.
"Definitely the way he comes down and hits people," he says. "It speaks volumes when you have a guy that can come down and make the sure tackle like he's doing."
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=678&e=3&u=/usatoday/20050412/sp_usatoday/georgiasdavisfunctionsasdiversesafetyvalve
By Larry Weisman, USA TODAY
Safeties often think of themselves as heat-seeking missiles. They like to blow up receivers and running backs and love it when they've got an unsuspecting victim in the crosshairs.
That's the nature of the business and the part that Thomas Davis seems to enjoy the best.
The University of Georgia junior ranks atop most boards as the outstanding free safety, and he is anxious to take his place in the NFL among the other big hitters.
"I feel like I'm ready to take on an offensive lineman if need be," Davis says.
Davis doesn't fit the classic free-safety mold. He's more comfortable playing closer to the line of scrimmage, as a strong safety would, and less at ease roaming in deep coverage.
At 6-1, 230 pounds, he could easily play the strong side or even get a look at weak-side linebacker.
"I feel like the coverage will be a question, because a lot of the times at Georgia, we were mainly used coming down in the box or basically just playing zone - we weren't playing a lot of man (coverage) at Georgia. So I think that will be a question that comes up, but I feel like I'll show teams that I'm capable of doing it. I have the speed to go out and cover," he says.
Sticking his nose in against the run just feels a little more natural at this point.
"I'd rather be that safety that comes down in the box, fills the gaps where needed," Davis says. "They're talking about using a lot of the bigger safeties at linebacker. Just given what a team needs, I'll be willing to go anywhere and play anything."
He has a history of that. In high school at Randolph-Clay in Shellman, Ga., he played running back, receiver, quarterback, defensive end and defensive back. He also returned kicks, kicked and punted.
The only Division I college that recruited him was Georgia, and the Bulldogs told him to forget about offense. But there was one part of it he would always remember as he grew into his role as a hard-hitting defensive back - the reticence of some players when it came to contact. "The safeties in high school," Davis says, "didn't even want to tackle me."
Davis has the height to handle tight ends running down the middle and the speed (4.6 in the 40-yard dash) to cope with backs and receivers.
That's not the part of the game that gets his juices flowing, though. If the three-year starter and all-SEC first-team safety wants to emulate any NFL player occupying his position, it is Dallas' Roy Williams. He knows exactly what he likes about the way Williams plays.
"Definitely the way he comes down and hits people," he says. "It speaks volumes when you have a guy that can come down and make the sure tackle like he's doing."