TOP 20: Deshaun Davis
Deshaun Davis may have been the Tigers' best story last season.
A forgotten prospect who hadn't played more than 10 snaps in any game since 2012, Davis instead settled in as Auburn's middle linebacker and started all 13 games as a sophomore last fall. He was useful and strong and spirited from start to finish. He was competent with his communication. He did everything that was asked of him and more — quickly emerging as a respected locker room presence despite entering the Clemson game with essentially zero college experience.
If that sounds like a fantastic story of redemption, well, you'd be correct.
Davis finished with 63 tackles, good enough for third among Auburn players, though middle linebackers often are tackle leaders since so many runs aim though the inside gaps. Still, Davis finished with seven tackles for loss, which was bettered only by NFL Draft picks Mon Adams (8.5) and Carl Lawson (13.5). That's a big number for a middle linebacker.
The interesting thing about Davis' season was the way it built momentum from an individual perspective. He was solid throughout the first half of the campaign, but had superior performances later in the season against Ole Miss (10 tackles on Oct. 29), Alabama (10 tackles including four for loss on Nov. 26) and eight tackles in the bowl game against Oklahoma.
The numbers dovetail with Davis' emerging awareness of how to diagnose run plays more quickly. He just needed reps — and position coach Travis Williams made certain that Davis was on the field as often as possible. Davis made the most of that experience because of his strong desire to improve and his dedication to film work during the week. He learned from mistakes quickly. He learned quickly because making mistakes is failure from his perspective.
And failure in Davis' world is wholly unacceptable.
If there's a weakness to Davis' game, it's that he doesn't have elite acceleration compared to many linebackers at this level. He doesn't zip through gaps the way you'd see from, say, Darrell Williams or Joshua Bynes or even Williams back in 2003 and '04.
However, Davis is a highly productive player because he diagnoses things quickly, he wastes little movement and he's probably the team's best tackler. (Safety Tray Matthews also tackled at a very high level last season.)
Davis will enter the 2017 season as a sure-fire starter who is best in the middle, though he also can play on the strong side when the Tigers adjust personnel. He's also a terrific leader who works hard, keeps his nose clean and shows genuine appreciation for the opportunity Auburn has given him.
ON THE UP SIDE: Power, tackling, motor, durability
ON THE DOWN SIDE: Explosiveness
VOTING RESULTS: Bryan Matthews (6th), Jay G. Tate (8th), The Bunker (11th), Jeffrey Lee (16th)
2016 RANKING: Not Ranked
POSTSCRIPT: There's a lot of talk about Will Muschamp's positive effects on Auburn's defense during his lone season as coordinator in 2015, but he missed badly on Davis. Signed by Ellis Johnson in 2014, Muschamp watched Davis and saw a slow linebacker who operated even more slowly due to overanalysis. Muschamp, despite all his strengths, tends to make quick judgments on players. Those judgments often stick. Kevin Steele and Travis Williams arrived at much different conclusions a year later; they saw a hungry player who was one dose of proper confidence away from major progress. Steele and Williams provided that confidence by way of verbal affirmation and giving him ample opportunities with the first-team defense. Long story short: Davis has become something much better than Muschamp envisioned. Davis doesn't like to toot his own horn, so you'll never hear much about how he felt slighted by Muschamp and how that relegation led him to fight even harder for his spot. That's the truth, though, so maybe Muschamp can claim a metaphorical personnel 'win' in this case as well.
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