UF’s Davis eyes healthy pro future
Florida linebacker Jarrad Davis endured an injuryplagued senior season. He’s sitting out this week’s NFL Combine but plans to show scouts he’s healthy at UF’s Pro Day later this month.
Jarrad Davis is prepared for the ensuing whirlwind.
The former UF linebacker is set to be in Indianapolis this week for the NFL Scouting Combine. When Davis was among the draft prospects working out recently with well-respected trainer Tom Shaw at Disney World’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, he said he did not intend to work out at the combine.
Instead, he plans to give teams a look at the status of his left ankle at UF’s Pro Day on March 28 in Gainesville.
“There’s so many things you have to work on as a player, period, just as far as the small things that add up to make you the player you are,’’ said Davis, an inside linebacker. “The biggest thing for me [is], I just want to show teams that I am a very strong mental player.
“When I am out there on the field, I know how to diagnose things. I know how to break things down, and I can move fast and get everyone else around me lined up and ready to play.’’
Davis is ranked as the fourth-best linebacking prospect in the draft by NFL.com’s Mike Mayock, behind Reuben Foster of Alabama, Haason Reddick of Temple and Zach Cunningham of Vanderbilt.
UF’s Alex Anzalone is rated fifth.
Davis (6-2, 238) was limited to nine games as a senior at UF while trying to play through injuries. After missing three games, he returned for the SEC Championship Game loss to Alabama. Davis sat out the Outback Bowl victory against Iowa in Tampa.
Davis said former Gators who have been through the draft process have provided good advice.
“They just told me not to let it overwhelm me, just to have fun with the whole process,’’ Davis said. “It’s something you have a special opportunity to do, and I want to make sure I make the best out of it.’’
If he is healthy, Davis — projected to go in the first two rounds of the draft, set from April 27-29 in Philadelphia — should meet that expectation.
Striking out
Former UF S Matt Elam entered the NFL as a firstround choice in 2013. The Baltimore Ravens viewed him as a potential heir to
Ed Reed, but Elam has one interception and one forced fumble in three seasons. (He missed the 2015 season because of a torn biceps.)
Now Elam is facing drug-related charges stemming from an incident last weekend in Miami Beach. Elam, a free agent, faces an uncertain future in more ways than one.
Who’s buying?
Since he entered the league as the 14th overall pick by the New York Jets in 2007, CB Darrelle Revis has compiled some astounding statistics: seven Pro Bowls, four-time AllPro first-team selection, 29 interceptions, $118.2 million in career earnings (according to spotrac.com).
The Jets plan to cut ties with Revis, 31, next Thursday — the start of the new league year.
With declining production, a high price tag and legal troubles looming in Pittsburgh, cutting Revis was about as surprising as a child raiding a cookie jar.
Revis has been viewed as a mercenary, seldom accepting less than what he believes he is worth, so it will be interesting to see where his next stop will be.
And what his salary requirements will be.
Good Knights
Two former UCF standouts bear watching when the free-agency period opens next week. Some team is going to pay CB
A.J. Bouye after a breakout season with the Houston Texans, and the Oakland Raiders reportedly will allow RB Latavius
Murray (12 rushing touchdowns in 2016) to see what’s out there.
Both have worked hard to arrive at this point. They entered the NFL in 2013, Bouye as an undrafted free agent and Murray as a sixth-round choice.
Quick drives
NFL teams can’t help breaking out their checkbooks to overpay free agents. In 2016, they doled out nearly $2 billion in contracts ($834 million in guaranteed money), BusinessInsider.com reported. The biggest spender? The Jacksonville Jaguars at $227.8 million. How’s that working out? …
The Miami Dolphins were the only state team to be awarded any of the 32 compensatory draft picks. They got one in the third round (No. 97 overall) and two in the fifth (Nos. 180 and 186). … Former Daytona Beach Seabreeze and FSU K Sebastian
Janikowski turned 39 Thursday. The longtime Raider — the last kicker to be selected in the first round, in 2000 —ranks 10th in league history with 1,799 points. … Speaking of age, LB
James Harrison signed a two-year contract to stay with the Pittsburgh Steelers. An oldie but goodie, Harrison would be 40 if he plays through the end of his deal. According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, only two linebackers have appeared in an NFL game after they hit the big 4-0:
Clay Matthews Jr. and Junior Seau.