A Q&A with Gators offensive line coach Tim Davis
Wednesday, August 8, 2012 | Football, Gymnastics, Scott Carter
We'll have a story on first-year Gators offensive line coach Tim Davis on GatorZone.com later today. Davis started his coaching career in 1981 as a student assistant at Utah, where he was a three-year letterman from 1978-80. He later spent time in the CFL and USFL as a player before going into coaching full time.
Here is a Q&A with Davis about some topics that didn't make the story:
Q: Who is the greatest influence on your coaching career?
A: My dad [Robert], my brother [Pete] and [former Utah coach] Ron McBride. Those three right there.
Q: What makes an excellent offensive lineman?
A: There are really five things: Does he embrace the game? Does he embrace the work ethic? Does he have will to win? Does he take it bad when he loses? When he works, does everybody look at him and say he sells it every day? Those are extremely important things you have to have. You don't need a guy that is a racehorse who doesn't prepare like a racehorse. And then you get into the physical part. Everyone loves tackles who are 6-5 and better for the long arms and legs that help them move. The inside guys, the guards and center, usually would be guys who are thinkers. The inside three – and this is just an analogy, I don't want moms out there to get mad – have to be able to text and drive. They have to be able to do two things at once. They have to be able to pull, pass protect, conceptualize on where the ball is going to be run. The center needs to have the tempo of the game in his pocket. The other four guys need to follow his lead.
Q: What's the best day you ever had on the football field as a player?
A: My first one is when I first got to Utah and we beat BYU at our place. We beat them, 23-22, on the last play of the game. It was fourth down and I was left tackle. They had some really good players, Marc Wilson was the starting quarterback, Jim McMahon was the punter. We weren't supposed to beat them and we beat them. My roommate [Randy Gomez] was the quarterback and he threw a fourth-quarter touchdown to Frank Henry. I remember it just like it was yesterday. He threw a fourth-down 78-X. I remember the play, too. It was awesome. That was a big deal for us.
Q: What do you consider your best day as a coach?
A: I was thinking about this just the other day. We were on national TV and I was at Utah. We played Colorado State and they were really good. They were ranked eighth or whatever they were ranked and we beat them on national TV. It was a really good game at their place. And when I went to Wisconsin and Ron Dayne broke the [NCAA Division I career] rushing record vs. Iowa [in 1999] because I really respected that offensive line. It was unbelievable.
Q: Who is best offensive lineman you have worked with?
A: At USC it was Jake Rogers. He was a guy that encapsulates all those things I was talking about. He worked his butt off. He didn't have a stellar pro career because he was hurt, but in college he was phenomenal. Ryan Kalil is another one. He played center and he is now up there with Carolina. When I was at Utah Lance Scott was that way. Anthony Brown was another one. Those are the guys that are the motivated guys.
Q: What have you learned about Florida football in your short time here?
A: I spent a year in the SEC at Alabama so I knew it was going to be what it is. The other thing is how staunch and how important football is to the community and the million Florida Gators. That's what makes it so special. Guys are on it. It's fun to be around that.
