NCAA Scouting – Player Profile: Vontae Davis, CB, Illinois by Ben Stockwell 13/3/2009
Corner is a position that is physically easier to play if you are shorter, you’ve got less distance to drop your hips to keep low and keep fluid in your back pedal, your centre of gravity is naturally lower for easier change of direction, the advantages to cover skills that being shorter than average brings are endless. However the area that being short scares NFL teams is clearly in jump balls against taller receivers, hence if you find a tall corner who has the cover the skills of a short corner you’ve got the match made in heaven that NFL scouting departments search through the eligible college players for every spring. Vontae Davis doesn’t bring the ideal size of a corner being above 6′ to not be completely dwarfed by the big wideouts, but being the younger brother of Vernon Davis he does bring some jaw dropping athleticism to the field to be able to cover receivers laterally and vertically.
What we like about Davis
His athleticism is almost without match among the corners in this draft class, at 5’11 203lbs he brings good size and bulk, at 4.49 he was one of the quicker corners at the combine (though that is a disappointingly slow time for Davis), his 25 reps on the bench press was the most among corners, you get the picture, he’s an athlete. Add in that he is still improving as a corner in terms of his cover skills and he is a prospect to be very excited about in this year’s draft. To use the draft scout lingo he has fluidity in his hips, excellent straight line speed and great upside. Now that meaningless lingo is out of the way we can get on to the more relevant things that jump out when you see him play. He’s comfortable in both zone and man coverage schemes, he’s a strong hitter coming up to cover the run and uses his size (over 200lbs) to separate the ball from the ball carrier both forcing fumbles and incompletions. Added to these cover skills Davis also brings some added bonuses in his special teams play, he blocked two kicks last season for the Fighting Illini and can return punts and kicks. For teams looking to fill multiple slots on the team with one player Davis is a rare rookie who could jump in and fill a multitude of roles in one neat package.
Question marks over Davis
Most of the question marks over Vontae Davis are shared with his older brother Vernon and when he was benched by Ron Zook this season he didn’t do much to alleviate the concerns over his work ethic willingness to work and fight to maximise his incredible potential. Vernon has failed to fulfil his potential and whilst it would be unfair to judge Vontae off of his brother and say that he will follow the same path, it’s not too much of a stretch to say that Vontae would be greatly helped by landing with a head coach and positional coach who will get on his back to drive him to become the great player that his natural ability dictates he can be.
Highlights of his College Career
Two time First team All-Big Ten selection (’07 and ’08) Part of the Fighting Illini team that was the surprise package of the 2007 season leading to a berth in the Rose Bowl.
Other Snippets of Info
– Young brother of San Francisco 49er tight end Vernon Davis – All-American (PrepStar) in his senior season at Dunbar High School (D.C.)
NCAA Scouting – Player Profile:
His athleticism is almost without match among the corners in this draft class, at 5’11 203lbs he brings good size and bulk, at 4.49 he was one of the quicker corners at the combine (though that is a disappointingly slow time for Davis), his 25 reps on the bench press was the most among corners, you get the picture, he’s an athlete. Add in that he is still improving as a corner in terms of his cover skills and he is a prospect to be very excited about in this year’s draft. To use the draft scout lingo he has fluidity in his hips, excellent straight line speed and great upside. Now that meaningless lingo is out of the way we can get on to the more relevant things that jump out when you see him play. He’s comfortable in both zone and man coverage schemes, he’s a strong hitter coming up to cover the run and uses his size (over 200lbs) to separate the ball from the ball carrier both forcing fumbles and incompletions. Added to these cover skills Davis also brings some added bonuses in his special teams play, he blocked two kicks last season for the Fighting Illini and can return punts and kicks. For teams looking to fill multiple slots on the team with one player Davis is a rare rookie who could jump in and fill a multitude of roles in one neat package.
