GAINESVILLE, Fla. --Â Soon after
Brad Davis began to talk at Thursday's introductory press conference for the Gators' three new assistant coaches, you understood why Davis has a reputation as a good communicator.
Same goes for Davis' new colleague, running backs coach
Ja'Juan Seider, who declared Davis a tough act to follow at the podium when it was his turn to speak to the assembled media.
The 36-year-old Davis spoke confidently and knowledgeably about where he's been, what he's learned, and what he hopes to accomplish as Florida's offensive line coach. It's easy to imagine Davis entering a recruit's home and winning over mom and dad.
"The biggest thing right now for me is to get these guys to buy into me,'' Davis said. "It's not really what I think of them. It's what they think of me."
As Davis settles into his new job, a path defined by the traits of a go-getter serves as his playbook.
The 6-foot-tall and 306-pound Davis worked his way into the starting lineup as left guard as a senior at Oklahoma in 2002. The Sooners' offensive line that season featured future Outland Trophy winner and NFL first-round pick Jammal Brown, and no one else shorter than 6-3.
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Davis was a member of Oklahoma's 2000 national championship team, but most of his playing time in Norman came his senior season.
"First of all, I stand up here at this podium and most of you all are like, 'That guy's from Oklahoma?' '' Davis quipped. "I'm an old short guy that probably wasn't good enough, so what I had to do was I had to overachieve. I had to learn to give more of myself. I didn't have the leeway to make some of the mistakes the more talented guys did."
A deeper dive into Davis' coaching career reveals a similar path, dotted with stops far from the spotlight of a program like Florida. Davis began his coaching career at the Southern University (La.) Lab School, a prep school in Baton Rouge. He was hired by a young coach Gator fans remember well as a player – former Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier – when Frazier was head coach at Doane (Neb.) College in 2005.
Several stops and more than a decade later, Gators head coach
Jim McElwain hired Davis by way of a mutual acquaintance, Portland State head coach Bruce Barnum. McElwain knows Barnum from their days at Eastern Washington together and Davis worked at Portland State for five seasons as run game coordinator/offensive line coach when Barnum was a Vikings assistant.
"Brad is one of those guys, as we were looking for that energy in that piece of the offensive line, he's a name that kept coming up,'' McElwain said.
Said Davis: "I've worked my butt off trying to do a great job and fortunately some of the people Coach Mac trusts have expressed that to him as well."
Davis developed a strong sense of attention to detail as he worked to climb the coaching ladder at schools like Portland State, James Madison and East Carolina.
In his one year at Doane that attribute was already evident.
"Because every little thing you do on the field and off the field shows you are committed,'' he said then.
Davis fought to earn a starting spot prior to his senior season. Nothing was ever a certainty.
"I like playing anywhere,'' Davis told The Oklahoman newspaper in fall camp. "Anywhere I can get on the field and make an impact, man, I'll play there."
Davis takes over a position group with the Gators that returns four starters from a season ago. His primary charge is to turn up the intensity and develop a more physical approach.
Davis said being physical is mostly "want-to," a topic he will emphasize when the Gators begin spring practice next week.
"The biggest thing right now is to get those guys to see the game the way I see it, to understand their purpose, and more importantly, understand the privilege that they have of being a Florida Gator. Those are the daily reminders they get from me."
In Davis' only season at North Texas, former Oklahoma teammate and Mean Green head coach Sean Littrell put him in charge of ushering the offense from a run-first approach to a spread offense. Davis' impact showed up in the production as North Texas averaged 24.8 points a game, an increase of more than nine points from the previous season.
Davis has already implanted a favorite analogy of his in the offensive line's head. The O-Line is the part of the offense that makes the rest of the unit succeed and reach different levels.
"It's pointless to have a Lamborghini with a bad transmission,'' he said. "It's worthless. We have a bunch of tough, physical, athletic football players that haven't really maximized their football potential. My job is to be a servant to the players that are here right now. I'm a vehicle of their success. Their job is to utilize me to help me enhance every aspect of their lives."
