Gators LB Jarrad Davis has strong case to be team's most improved player
Friday, November 27, 2015 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – As the Gators walked off the practice field recently, I had a chat with the player on the roster who in my view is Florida's most improved player in 2015.
Mind you, this is a very unscientific study. In fact, I failed to consult even one analytics major on campus or reach out to any on the internet. Nope, I just relied on the good old-fashioned eye test every Saturday.
For those who pay close attention to the Gators, several players in the program prior to this season have shown improvement in 2015.
Senior defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard is now considered a potential No. 1-draft pick. Sophomore cornerback Jalen Tabor is a playmaker of the highest order. Safety Marcus Maye has earned well-deserved respect for his stellar play.
On offense, junior running back Kelvin Taylor is having his best season. Quarterback Will Grier appeared on the way to a solid season prior to his suspension. And young tight ends DeAndre Goolsby and C'yontai Lewis are players to watch in the future.
Still, pound for pound I'm going with junior linebacker Jarrad Davis. You always knew Davis had the talent to be a good college linebacker, but he was always stuck behind somebody on the depth chart.
The 6-foot-2, 230-pound Davis has blossomed this season in Florida's primary 4-2-5 defensive formation, teaming with senior linebacker Antonio Morrison to give the Gators good production and leadership at the position.
“I definitely feel like I've made a pretty big jump, but I know I still have a long way to go,'' Davis said. “I've got a lot of room for improvement still. I'm doing a lot of things I wasn't doing last year. I'm just becoming smarter with the game, and just more mature. I'm able to see things a lot better, play a lot faster and play a lot harder.”
Davis entered this season with 47 career tackles in 21 games (two starts). He is second on the team in tackles (77) this season behind Morrison's 84. Davis has been a disruptive force for Florida's sixth-ranked defense all season.
He has 10 tackles-for-loss, which is third on the team, 3 ½ sacks and an interception. Davis rebounded from a knee injury that cost him the final three games of last season, including the matchup against Florida State in Tallahassee.
As a freshman in 2013, Davis was named Florida's Most Valuable Special Teams Player. His all-business, time-to-work approach quickly gained Davis respect in the locker room and from the former UF coaching staff.
“It's how I grew up. You are either doing real good or real bad. When you are doing real bad, you've got to know how to address it,'' Davis said. “You've got to know how to tackle the issue and get back on the right track. My mom put that into me early, my dad put that into me early. It's just how I came to college. There is no point in changing just because you interact with a lot of new people. What's got me here is exactly that attribute in my life.”
Davis said his confidence grew early in the season when he made some big plays and took off from there. He also wanted to become more of a vocal leader to complement the added responsibility he attained as a starter.
“I've taken on that role,'' he said. “It's just something that has to happen. You need someone there to push the defense. Me and 'Tone [Morrison] both came off injuries and we both stepped into that role. It's good when it comes from your linebackers. It really helps your defense out.”
