Dematrius Davis 'absolutely loving' first spring

[aubiefifty 18,231]

Freshman QB Dematrius Davis 'absolutely loving' first spring at Auburn

ByNathan King 3 hours ago

 

AUBURN, Ala. — Even after everything he was promised about the future of the offense he’d lead one day was overhauled with a coaching change, Auburn’s freshman quarterback stuck out his commitment and signed anyway.

Though the new staff didn’t recruit him, they’re starting to see the playmaking ability — and, more importantly — the intangibles that made him such a desired prospect.

Dematrius "Dee" Davis is now in his second week of spring ball after enrolling early with the program. After thanking former Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn and offensive coordinator Chad Morris for recruiting him, the four-star QB out of the Houston area signed a week before Auburn hired Bryan Harsin.

“Overall, he feels great about his decision (to stick with Auburn),” Davis’ father, Dematrius Davis Sr., told Auburn Undercover this week.

Dee Davis was a standout in the winter workout period, according to his dad, hang-cleaning 315 pounds and squatting 430 pounds. Even more refreshing for his family to hear, however, was that Dee Davis expressed he had no regrets about coming to Auburn and was enamored with his new coaching staff and peers.

“He’s absolutely loving it,” Davis Sr. said. “He loves his teammates and he’s having a blast.”

As the Tigers transitioned from the weight room to the practice field when spring football began last week, Dee Davis was introduced to new Auburn offensive coordinator Mike Bobo’s stipulations for how he wants the position to be played — including more snaps taken under center.

 

 

For Dee Davis, the learning curve may not be as difficult as it will be more some of the other QBs.

“He’s glad he played under center at Northshore (High School) at times,” Davis Sr. said.

At last week’s open practice inside Jordan-Hare Stadium, fans got their first look at Davis — listed at 5-foot-11 on the roster but with athleticism and a quick-firing arm to make up for it.

When asked this week, Bobo said it’s far too early to make an assessment of Davis as a quarterback after only a handful of practices. And even moving forward, Auburn won’t get too hung up on mistakes the freshman might make. Right now, it’s about making Davis feel at home within the offense and like he’s capable of making plays.

“I've coached a lot of mid-year quarterbacks over my career,” Bobo said. “Really, you're just trying to, through this spring ball, as you're coaching a midyear quarterback — you're just trying to get them in a position where they'll be able to compete in the fall. It's a lot of learning, it's a lot of teaching. It's a lot of understanding everything, from how to take a snap to snap count to the way you use your voice, cadence. … You're just trying to make them continue to feel comfortable."

Bobo did say, however, that he’s been shown everything he wants to see out of a QB in terms of a baseline at practice. Davis displayed good fundamentals for Bobo and Harsin to mold over the next few years before he’s presumed to take over the starting job once Bo Nix is gone.

Davis, the winningest quarterback in Texas high-school football history, is also a dynamic runner, helping him to account for more than 13,500 yards from scrimmage and 171 total touchdowns during his time at Northshore. His athleticism is already impressing in practice and he even ran over a defender last week on a scramble, Bobo said.

“I know he's only 5-11, but he's a yoked-up 5-11,” Bobo said. “He's like 210 pounds. So he's sturdy. He pulled one down and ran it the other day, and they really kind of ran into him and bounced off of him.”

Nix is Auburn’s starter without a doubt, but Harsin said he plans to rotate all the quarterbacks in with the first-team offense this spring — and he won’t always give them a heads up of when they’ll be inserted in with the starters.

Davis will need to be prepared for the big stage at practice on a daily basis, and it’s Bobo’s job to make sure he will be.

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Auburn has slightly improved quarterback depth this season behind Nix than in 2020. With last year’s backup, Grant Loy, currently dealing with a minor injury, walk-on Trey Lindsey occupied most of the second-team snaps at the open practice last Saturday, with Davis and 2019 signee Chayil Garnett rotating in most often with him.

6COMMENTS

“The thing for me is just trying to get Dee more confident right now,” Bobo said. “That's going to take time. It's a process. He's in a room with a guy like Bo Nix, who is in his third year and is hungry and is asking questions just nonstop, like 'blah blah blah blah blah.' It's kind of overwhelming — not just for Dee, but for a lot of guys, sometimes. You're trying to figure it out. You don't understand some things, and it's my job to get him to a place where he can go out and compete.

“As practice goes, he'll continue to get more reps. The thing for him is getting him to a place where he can go out there and be confident in everything he does.”

[WDE_OxPx_2010 5,473]

3 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

"Nix is Auburn’s starter without a doubt..."

Interesting.

[McLoofus 35,182]

Side note: I'm enjoying Bobo's measured comportment and remarks. Dude's first season as a GA was 1999. His first season as a P5 QB coach was 2001, under Mark Richt. 

Pedigree and experience aren't magic potions, but damn if they don't feel good to have on our staff right now. 

[CleCoTiger 1,957]

13 hours ago, WDE_OxPx_2010 said:

Interesting.

The writer didn't use quotes with that so I'm wondering if it's just the writer's opinion or if it's something that was impressed upon him by the staff to the point he felt comfortable writing it? Not doubting that Nix is penciled in as the starter as of now, but with an "under center" offense I'd be surprised if it's something written in stone.

[aucanucktiger 1,889]

Beware articles by dudes with profile photos of themselves drinking coffee. He slyly fails to mention something Auburn folk know that the rest of the sporting world probably forgets - Dee signed with Auburn AFTER Malzahn was fired, so he knew he was signing on to a new coach. But to mention that suggests he was signing on to AUBURN rather than a coach. Oh horrors!

[Sizzle 3,948]

 

[hqsi99 103]

On 3/25/2021 at 3:32 AM, aucanucktiger said:

Beware articles by dudes with profile photos of themselves drinking coffee. He slyly fails to mention something Auburn folk know that the rest of the sporting world probably forgets - Dee signed with Auburn AFTER Malzahn was fired, so he knew he was signing on to a new coach. But to mention that suggests he was signing on to AUBURN rather than a coach. Oh horrors!

The first line of the story says he signed with Auburn after the coaching change was made:

"Even after everything he was promised about the future of the offense he’d lead one day was overhauled with a coaching change, Auburn’s freshman quarterback stuck out his commitment and signed anyway."

[McLoofus 35,182]

12 minutes ago, hqsi99 said:

The first line of the story says he signed with Auburn after the coaching change was made:

"Even after everything he was promised about the future of the offense he’d lead one day was overhauled with a coaching change, Auburn’s freshman quarterback stuck out his commitment and signed anyway."

Pretty hilarious when folks don't even read things before contradicting them.

And the takeaway for Mr. Failed Editor up there shouldn't be that Dee committed to Auburn and not Malzahn. The takeaway is that Dee is a good QB, Harsin wanted to keep Dee in the fold, and convinced Dee that he should stay. Also, Dee might not have had any better options that late in the process, had relationships with other kids in the class (I think we had 3 recruits from Texas sign with us literally because of Dee), etc. But a lot of folks have fond memories of the good old days and look for opportunities to shoehorn them into the conversation. 

 

 

[AU_Twisterman 83]

12 hours ago, Sizzle said:

 

Wow, there are so many little nuggets of info from this one clip.  I'm thinking the OL has wider splits than previous years, they correctly identify and have hat on hat on the 5 man rush, QB feels the pocket pressure and slides left while still being able to make the throw.  It is a successful play even though the OL struggled to maintain.  Good stuff.

[McLoofus 35,182]

34 minutes ago, AU_Twisterman said:

Wow, there are so many little nuggets of info from this one clip.  I'm thinking the OL has wider splits than previous years, they correctly identify and have hat on hat on the 5 man rush, QB feels the pocket pressure and slides left while still being able to make the throw.  It is a successful play even though the OL struggled to maintain.  Good stuff.

Yo. Post more often. 

[AU_Twisterman 83]

34 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Yo. Post more often. 

I keep saying I will, but it is just hard to find the time.  Even then, someone else has usually covered my point so I don't want to be redundant.

[McLoofus 35,182]

5 minutes ago, AU_Twisterman said:

I keep saying I will, but it is just hard to find the time.  Even then, someone else has usually covered my point so I don't want to be redundant.

Savor this moment, fam. It's extremely rare that this species is seen in the wild.

[Hank2020 3,355]

1 hour ago, AU_Twisterman said:

Wow, there are so many little nuggets of info from this one clip.  I'm thinking the OL has wider splits than previous years, they correctly identify and have hat on hat on the 5 man rush, QB feels the pocket pressure and slides left while still being able to make the throw.  It is a successful play even though the OL struggled to maintain.  Good stuff.

He looked nervous but seemed to get his feet planted enough to make his throw.

[McLoofus 35,182]

12 minutes ago, Hank2020 said:

He looked nervous but seemed to get his feet planted enough to make his throw.

Like I tell my kids, it's not about not being scared. It's about making good decisions despite being scared.

You love to hear about guys having success when things are shaky. That's how you build confidence. Love that Harsin is creating those moments *now*. 

[steeleagle 2,945]

4 hours ago, McLoofus said:

Pretty hilarious when folks don't even read things before contradicting them.

And the takeaway for Mr. Failed Editor up there shouldn't be that Dee committed to Auburn and not Malzahn. The takeaway is that Dee is a good QB, Harsin wanted to keep Dee in the fold, and convinced Dee that he should stay. Also, Dee might not have had any better options that late in the process, had relationships with other kids in the class (I think we had 3 recruits from Texas sign with us literally because of Dee), etc. But a lot of folks have fond memories of the good old days and look for opportunities to shoehorn them into the conversation. 

 

 

exactly. Good takedown.

And Harsin probably after looking at his tape, knows this QB although a DT type, threw a lot in HS ,and saw on film he could fit in with his offense....FOR NOW. As other QBs sign with Auburn and we see the type of builds and arms Harsin signs, things could change for Davis. 

But I am glad he picked Auburn bc we are Auburn.

[Tiger Refuge 6,781]

10 hours ago, McLoofus said:

Pretty hilarious when folks don't even read things before contradicting them.

And the takeaway for Mr. Failed Editor up there shouldn't be that Dee committed to Auburn and not Malzahn. The takeaway is that Dee is a good QB, Harsin wanted to keep Dee in the fold, and convinced Dee that he should stay. Also, Dee might not have had any better options that late in the process, had relationships with other kids in the class (I think we had 3 recruits from Texas sign with us literally because of Dee), etc. But a lot of folks have fond memories of the good old days and look for opportunities to shoehorn them into the conversation. 

 

 

When are you Gus bashers gonna stop!? Huh!?

[Sully to Beasley 643]

Nix may indeed be the starter at the beginning of the season but if he does not improve his performance from his sophomore campaign he won't remain the starter IMHO. I hope Davis pushes him hard.