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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Buster [/FONT]Davis Has Something To Prove
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Kate Brandt
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Buster Davis has something to prove.
A three-year starting linebacker at Florida State, Davis collected 265 tackles and was the unquestioned leader of the Seminole defense. And if grit, intensity, and production were the only measurables in the annual NFL Draft, Davis would almost certainly have been a first-round selection.
But at 5-9, Davis slipped to the third round where the Cardinals selected him as the 69th overall pick.
“If I was six foot, I would be a top-20 pick,” he said. “Everybody takes that into account and thinks I can’t get the job done, but I’ve done nothing but prove people wrong as I’ve grown up,” Davis explained during his post-draft conference call with local media. “It is just another stepping stone in life that I have to deal with.”
Armed with a will to prove he can overcome those three inches, Davis can look at two-time Pro Bowl Card receiver Anquan Boldin as a model for success.
Boldin, likewise a Seminole, was the consummate team player for Florida State, playing wherever the coaching staff needed him. However, a knee injury his junior year and only an average forty-yard-dash time forced him to fall into the second round (54th overall) of the 2003 draft.
But Boldin proved his critics wrong during the 2003 season with a rookie record 101 pass receptions, which broke the previous NFL record of 98 (New England’s Terry Glenn 1996). In addition, Boldin was also the only rookie selected to the 2004 Pro Bowl, and he recorded five 100-yard games in his rookie season.
That’s the road Davis hopes to follow this year.
“He came in and worked,” Davis said of Boldin. “He came in here and did what he was supposed to do and he is a competitor. He rose to the occasion and went out there and did what he does best. It is that type of swagger that comes from Florida State. We know our abilities if we’re put in the right situation and I think I’m in a real good situation here in Arizona.”
Davis, who played the majority of his career as an inside backer, knows his work is cut out for him to earn playing time at the next level.
“Everyone has been talking about my height and everything but the Cardinals saw something they like in me and they drafted me,” added Davis. “I’m just happy to be here so I can show what I can do.”
Card linebackers coach Billy Davis echoed the importance of performance. “My advice to him was it is irrelevant where he was picked in the NFL Draft,” Davis offered. “The fact is all of our rookies, whether it is a free agent or first-round pick, have an opportunity to make it in the NFL. Nothing is guaranteed. His opportunity is in front of him and now he has to do something with it.”
Boldin is a prime example of overcoming textbook size and speed to excel through determination and perseverance.
“People can draft you in a certain position, but people can’t determine how hard you work, and they can’t determine how much heart you have and how much you put into it,” added Boldin. “Those are a lot of the things you can’t measure. They’re the intangibles for anybody in that situation that feels they may have been slighted during the draft. Just come out and work and prove them wrong.”
And prove people wrong is exactly what Davis has in mind and show why the Cards were lucky to get him in the third round.
Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt also believes Davis has what it takes to contribute immediately. “He’s a very smart football player which is another thing that gives him a lot of value. I think when you look at a player and what we are trying to get established here that is what shows up on the tape and that is what we’re excited about.”
“I’m ready to make it happen any way I can,” Davis adds. “I want to do the same thing he (Boldin) did. We come here to work. It is a job for us and I have to feed my family. I know I might be playing weak side, special teams, whatever the case may be, but I want to do the same thing Q did…overachieve.”
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Buster [/FONT]Davis Has Something To Prove
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Kate Brandt
azcardinals.com[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Buster Davis has something to prove.
A three-year starting linebacker at Florida State, Davis collected 265 tackles and was the unquestioned leader of the Seminole defense. And if grit, intensity, and production were the only measurables in the annual NFL Draft, Davis would almost certainly have been a first-round selection.
But at 5-9, Davis slipped to the third round where the Cardinals selected him as the 69th overall pick.
“If I was six foot, I would be a top-20 pick,” he said. “Everybody takes that into account and thinks I can’t get the job done, but I’ve done nothing but prove people wrong as I’ve grown up,” Davis explained during his post-draft conference call with local media. “It is just another stepping stone in life that I have to deal with.”
Armed with a will to prove he can overcome those three inches, Davis can look at two-time Pro Bowl Card receiver Anquan Boldin as a model for success.
Boldin, likewise a Seminole, was the consummate team player for Florida State, playing wherever the coaching staff needed him. However, a knee injury his junior year and only an average forty-yard-dash time forced him to fall into the second round (54th overall) of the 2003 draft.
But Boldin proved his critics wrong during the 2003 season with a rookie record 101 pass receptions, which broke the previous NFL record of 98 (New England’s Terry Glenn 1996). In addition, Boldin was also the only rookie selected to the 2004 Pro Bowl, and he recorded five 100-yard games in his rookie season.
That’s the road Davis hopes to follow this year.
“He came in and worked,” Davis said of Boldin. “He came in here and did what he was supposed to do and he is a competitor. He rose to the occasion and went out there and did what he does best. It is that type of swagger that comes from Florida State. We know our abilities if we’re put in the right situation and I think I’m in a real good situation here in Arizona.”
Davis, who played the majority of his career as an inside backer, knows his work is cut out for him to earn playing time at the next level.
“Everyone has been talking about my height and everything but the Cardinals saw something they like in me and they drafted me,” added Davis. “I’m just happy to be here so I can show what I can do.”
Card linebackers coach Billy Davis echoed the importance of performance. “My advice to him was it is irrelevant where he was picked in the NFL Draft,” Davis offered. “The fact is all of our rookies, whether it is a free agent or first-round pick, have an opportunity to make it in the NFL. Nothing is guaranteed. His opportunity is in front of him and now he has to do something with it.”
Boldin is a prime example of overcoming textbook size and speed to excel through determination and perseverance.
“People can draft you in a certain position, but people can’t determine how hard you work, and they can’t determine how much heart you have and how much you put into it,” added Boldin. “Those are a lot of the things you can’t measure. They’re the intangibles for anybody in that situation that feels they may have been slighted during the draft. Just come out and work and prove them wrong.”
And prove people wrong is exactly what Davis has in mind and show why the Cards were lucky to get him in the third round.
Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt also believes Davis has what it takes to contribute immediately. “He’s a very smart football player which is another thing that gives him a lot of value. I think when you look at a player and what we are trying to get established here that is what shows up on the tape and that is what we’re excited about.”
“I’m ready to make it happen any way I can,” Davis adds. “I want to do the same thing he (Boldin) did. We come here to work. It is a job for us and I have to feed my family. I know I might be playing weak side, special teams, whatever the case may be, but I want to do the same thing Q did…overachieve.”
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