The Cardinal Countdown: 85 Days Until Kickoff

#85 Jordan Davis

Class: RS Junior

Ht/Wt: 6-4/253

Position: Tight End

Hometown: Clear Lake, TX

Twitter: @UknowJD

Thoughts: After sitting out all of 2016 (Texas A&M transfer) many didn’t really know what to expect from Davis last season. Was he a clear #1 at tight end coming in? Was he a nice add on to the talented group the Cards already had in Crum and Standberry? Mixed reports from practice had him ranging anywhere from the next Gronk to a guy who may only see the field a few snaps all year. What we ultimately got was a very talented athlete who fit nicely into the bundle of TE’s we already had, a group that attacked 2017 as more of a committee than boosting a clear cut leader like we had seen in Hikutini the seasons prior.

Davis raised some eyebrows Week 1 last year catching the Cards first touchdown of the season in the Peyton Manning Lucas Oil Dome. He also had a nice catch and run the first play of the game against Kent State, grabbing a pass up the middle and showing off his ‘touchdown squirrel’ like speed (actually he was caught from behind in open field, come on JD!). Davis played in eleven games and seemed to be the go-to option when the Cards needed an extra blocker on the field. While I never had an issue with his down field play, it appeared that Standberry and Crum felt more comfortable in the offense last year and were relied upon more in the passing game as definitive threats.

For 2018 Davis will certainly have an opportunity to make his presence known at the position. Petrino loves to run two tight end sets and Davis will be battling the veteran Crum and Sophomore Kemari Averett for PT during the fall. With what many expect to be a more balanced offense Davis will need to get more comfortable running routes and forcing himself open in tight spots. I think his size will continue to be a big help in the ground game and if nothing else will allow him more time on the field to try and establish himself as a Top 2 guy at the position leaving fall camp. If we do another TE by committee in 2018 I can live with a healthy dose of Averett, Davis, and Crum all getting reps and blowing folks up over the middle.

Sweet Tweet:

I’m sure Davis was talking about Lebron, or Jordan, or Blanton Creque, but lets all pretend for a moment he was talking about the real GOAT…Lamar Jackson. I’m not a “live in the past” kind of guy but we would also would be silly to ignore what Lamar brought to the program the last three seasons. I stumbled on this video early in the year and thought I’d share it in case anyone missed it.

Grab your popcorn and check out all 119 Lamar Jackson touchdowns at Louisville…sixteen unforgettable minutes for you to enjoy....that’s what she said.