Aug. 24, 2010
="" alt="Knight Head" border="0" class="imported"> Read John Denton's Knights Insider | ="" alt="Twitter Logo" border="0" class="imported">Follow us on Twitter | ="" alt="Facebook Logo" border="0" class="imported">Get social with the Knights on Facebook
By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - A bold, cursive tattoo reading ``Tyrone'' is splattered across Jonathan Davis' chest, but the UCF tailback needed no reminder as to who was his first contact to make upon finding out he had been promoted to the first string offense.
Just minutes after leaving the meeting room last week and finding out that he had reached one of his goals of winning the starting tailback job at UCF, Davis frantically searched for his phone so that he could inform his father, Tyrone Davis.
Tyrone, after all, was the one who coached Jonathan all the throughout Pee Wee football and was a de facto coach for him while in high school in Lawrenceville, Ga. Tyrone was there when Davis' high school won a state championship and he was there for every home game of his son's freshman season at UCF last year.
And he'll be there again on Sept. 4 when UCF hosts South Dakota at Bright House Networks Stadium in the season opener. And Davis, who shares the middle name of Tyrone in honor of his father, wanted his dad to know that he would be playing this game as UCF's starting tailback.
``He's such a big part of my success. My dad was my coach up until high school and even in high school he was always there for me so I had to let him know,'' a smiling Davis said. ``He's very proud of me and what I have accomplished. I called him and told him that they had moved me up to the first team and the first thing he told me was that it was so important now for me to keep working.''
Davis' ascension up the depth chart has been a work in progress. With two-year starter Brynn Harvey out until at least mid-September following a spring knee injury, the starting running back slot was up for grabs. Brendan Kelly seemed to have won the job with a solid spring, but Davis vaulted to the top with a dazzling fall practice.
Talent, you see, has never been an issue for Davis, a 5-foot-9, 200-pound back with cat-quick speed and compact, explosive power. Discipline, however, has with him too often freelancing and failing to monitor details.
Having such an opportunity one the line seemed to sharpen Davis' focus. On the field, he cleaned up his pass protection, ran to the right holes and kept his head down in practice. Off the field, he studied his playbook, showed up to meetings on time and earned ``Elite Knight'' status in the weight room by adding at least 50 pounds to several of his lifts.
``The one area we targeted that he needed to improve upon was his discipline,'' UCF offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe said. ``He had a tendency of being a little bit of a loose cannon and just running wherever he wanted to run instead of where the play is designed. He's made major improvements in that area.
``Jonathan has great bursts of quickness and he's a legit threat as our running back,'' Taaffe continued. ``He showed signs of it last year and he's more of a complete back now and that's a real positive.''
Davis emerged as a threat late last season when he ably filled in at times for Harvey and showed the power and burst coaches were looking for. He started in place of the injured Harvey and ran for 71 yards against Texas. He then finished the season strong, running for 76 yards and a score against Tulane and another 75 yards and a TD at UAB.
And after running for his fourth touchdown of the season in the St. Pete Bowl, a plan was put in place for Davis to split carries with Harvey this season. Harvey's injury in the spring derailed that plan, but opened up a major opportunity to be a starter for Davis.
Following his devoted work in the weight room, Davis talked daily with his father, Tyrone, about his plan of attack to win the starting job. He wrote out his goals on a sheet of paper - stuff like taking care of the ball, not missing blocks, running hard, etc. And each night he went back and checked off the goals in an attempt to hold himself accountable. And at times, he had his dad would go over the goal sheet together.
``I kind of put myself on a schedule. Day to day, I would check out my goals and make sure I met those specific goals,'' Davis said. ``Knowing the plays, knowing the concept of what we're trying to do on plays, knowing what my offensive linemen are doing, that's where I have made the biggest improvements.''
Davis' only blip of camp came two weeks ago when after celebrating a touchdown run he jumped into the air and landed on the foot of his close friend, Brian Watters, and sprained his ankle. He quickly returned from the injury, vowing nothing would stop him to hanging onto a starting job he worked so hard to attain.
``I woke up every morning this summer thinking it was a day for me to get better. I really wanted to reach my goals,'' Davis said. ``I'm very proud of myself, but I also knew that I could do it. It was just a matter of me doing what I have to do on and off the field to get this.''
=====
Click here to receive the Knights Insider via email
John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFAthletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.