Full Circle
June 23, 2008 11:03 AM | General
June 23, 2008
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Serenity now, serenity now. West Virginia’s Eddie Davis says it was nice going to practice last spring without having the limits of his eardrums tested every time something went wrong.
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| Eddie Davis is returning to defensive back after spending his first two years at WVU playing offense.
Tom Crozier photo |
“I don’t really like the coaches that are screaming to try to get the message through to you,” Davis recalled recently. Davis indicated that coaches like David Lockwood understand the difference between coaching hard and being verbally abusive.
“He’s cool and laid back. He’s calm and collected,” Davis said. “That’s the way I like them. He’s intense, though, and he’ll tell you what to do. It’s just my job to do it.”
Davis, now a sophomore, came to West Virginia as a running back although the vast majority of his high school experience was spent playing defensive back. He earned all-county honors at Freedom High School in Tampa and played in the Hillsborough County East-West All-Star game.
The one-time South Florida commitment made a midseason switch to running back during his senior year and had 275 yards in one game against Tampa Tech, sparking the interest of Division I schools. He eventually landed at West Virginia where the idea was to get him bigger to play running back.
But last year with Steve Slaton, Noel Devine and Jock Sanders in the backfield, and with a lack of depth at slot receiver, Davis was moved to receiver to take advantage of his speed. He appeared in just four games and caught one pass for two yards. Lockwood saw Davis as more of a cornerback and before the start of spring ball convinced him to move to the other side of the football.
“Coach Lockwood put it in Coach Stew’s head that I could play cornerback and he wanted to see how I would do there in the spring,” Davis said. “He liked it so I’m staying there for now.”
What intrigued Lockwood most about Davis was his speed. He was a 10.6 guy in track in high school.
“They didn’t really know what I could do at corner. I knew what to do from high school but it’s different on the college level,” Davis said. “They really just wanted to see if I could stick somewhere and the spring worked out.”
Davis said he was able to work off some of the rust last spring.
“It’s all about just getting in the stance and getting low and back-pedaling,” Davis said. “I am kind of used to moving forward and not backward coming from receiver. Spring practice is just really about brushing up on the techniques that you need to play cornerback. I hadn’t done it in a long time so I was a little rusty.”
Davis admits he wasn’t too thrilled with the idea of moving to slot receiver last year.
“The coaches knew I didn’t like receiver very much so they suggested I play cornerback. I played it my entire high school career so it wasn’t really an extreme change for me,” he said.
Having played different positions on offense has helped him in his switch to defense. Davis said he understands what goes through the mind of an offensive player in both passing and running situations.
“I know what can beat a cornerback and I also know what a receiver doesn’t want a cornerback to do,” Davis explained.
What has impressed Davis most about the new coaching staff Bill Stewart has brought in is their vast experience and knowledge of the game.
“They seem to know what they are talking about,” he said. “I don’t know how the defensive staff was last year because I wasn’t there. Even playing corner in high school, I didn’t know until this spring all the technique and reads that go into it.”
Getting on the field is one of his primary objectives. Another is to beat South Florida after losing two straight to the Bulls. Davis admits that even though he’s been a part of two New Year’s Day bowl victories at West Virginia, it has been tough going back home and listening to all of the USF talk.
“I look forward to playing USF. I’m from Tampa, Fla., and when I go back home I really can’t brag at all,” he laughed. “I haven’t been on the field the last two years but this year I should be on the field so I’m going to try to make an impact.”
Davis said he also wouldn’t mind pulling some double duty if the situation arises.
“I told the coaches that I would like to play both sides of the ball but they said that would probably be too hard for me,” he said. “I see myself playing anything and everything. I can play offense or defense.”
Lockwood would probably prefer that Eddie Davis concentrate solely on cornerback. There could be an opportunity for him there this fall if he works hard, plays well and can learn the defense.
