| Editor's note: Throughout the season, Pro Football Weekly will run a
continuing series of articles spotlighting top prospects for the 2002 draft. 
When Andre Davis signed a national letter of intent to attend Virginia Tech, he had a
feeling he would be running ahead of the pack — mainly, because that’s what was
expected from a highly touted sprinter on a full-ride track scholarship.
Davis, among the top-rated senior wideouts in the nation, didn’t consider football
an option until midway through his junior season at Niskayuna (N.Y.) High School. He
didn’t even know he had a 40-time — which is world-class at 4.29 seconds —
but was quite qualified to match speed with the nation’s best track-and-field
performers in, say, the 200 meters.
"In track, I just worried about running down the track — alone," said
Davis, a 6-1, 194-pounder. "Now I worry about 300-pound linemen and everybody else
out there trying to take my head off."
The biggest adjustment from the big oval to the gridiron has been becoming acclimated
to taking a big hit. Davis was redshirted as a freshman when he met first-year WR coach
Tony Ball.
"You are always apprehensive when you are looking at inexperience and basically a
change of sports," Ball said. "I was impressed with him, not having a chance to
see tape or take part in the recruiting process. His hands were soft, he had a natural
ability to judge and adjust to the deep ball and already knew what he needed to know about
speed."
Davis, 21, made a big splash in the Hokies' lineup as a sophomore when he had 35
receptions for 962 yards (an impressive 27.5 yards per catch) and scored nine touchdowns.
He followed that up by collecting 26 catches for 318 yards with two touchdowns and added
two returns for scores last season, when he missed parts of five games and started only
eight due to an ankle injury that eventually required surgery.
Scouts rave about Davis’ ability to run under a 50-yard pass on a fly pattern, but
they question the lack of crispness apparent in his route running. They love the fact that
Davis enjoys the chore of returning punts and kicks, but they ponder whether he’ll
hold up to the pounding that position requires at the next level because of a history of
injuries.
"He had that track mentality," Ball said. "That adjustment took him a
little while, but he made it. I don’t know if he saw real success until last year,
and it was because he became tougher mentally. He started to practice with those nagging
injuries and dismissed that track mentality."
After Davis decided not to follow his closest friend, Michael Vick, to the NFL
following his junior season, he dedicated himself to becoming the team’s top weapon.
He’s done just that with a team-high 32 receptions for 437 yards and four touchdowns
in the Hokies’ first eight games.
"Andre is an intelligent individual," Ball said. "He studies what people
are doing and understands what the corners are doing, what the quarterback is trying to
do. Intelligence is his best attribute."
Davis said he continues to have lapses against physical corners, like last season when
Syracuse CB Will Allen, a second-round pick of the New York Giants, held Davis in check.
"I can still get better in that area," Davis said. "Everything coach
Ball teaches us starts with fundamentals. As long as I can keep my space on a defender, I
feel like I can beat anybody."
Syracuse defensive coordinator Chris Rippon used a similar strategy to take Davis out
of the game this season, a 22-14 loss that the Hokies followed with a 38-7 loss to
Pittsburgh. Now that the Hokies have all but eliminated themselves from the Bowl
Championship Series, Davis can focus on the future.
"I’m just going to go out there and continue to prove myself and hopefully
get into the first round of the draft," Davis said.
Most scouts agree Davis has first-round ability, but his placement in the opening round
depends more on what others do than how Davis wraps up the 2001 season. Juniors Jabar
Gaffney (Florida), Antonio Bryant (Pittsburgh) and seniors Marquise Walker (Michigan),
Kelly Campbell (Georgia Tech), Ron Johnson (Minnesota) and Javon Walker (Florida State)
are considered equal or greater talents at this stage of the college season.
"I want to prove to people I am one of the best wide receivers in the
nation," Davis said. "That isn’t always important to the guys in the NFL
because third-, fourth-, fifth-round guys, and even free agents go out and do better than
some first-round picks. But for me, when you are any team’s first pick, you have
proven to yourself that you are a very good football player."
"His straight-line speed is top-notch," said one scout. "He’s still
raw in certain areas, but probably a first-round pick."
If Davis has one final chance to prove himself on the football field, it comes in his
final home game Dec. 1 against Miami. Two members of the No. 1 Hurricanes’ secondary,
S Ed Reed and CB Mike Rumph, are projected first- or early second-round picks in the 2002
draft.
"It’s going to be tough, as always," said Davis, who was quick to point
out he has not lost a millisecond on that 4.29 40-time since having ankle surgery.
"Rumph is a film-watcher. When you go into a game with him, he can tell you what you
are going to do before you do it. He knows tendencies and he is very physical. You
can’t intimidate him, and he has good speed if he makes a mistake."
If Davis can get a step on Rumph, coach Ball delivered a warning to his receivers:
proceed with caution.
"You better know where Reed is when you are running your route," Ball said.
"Then you better find him after you catch it, because when he comes to make that play
or make a tackle, he’ll cut you in half."
Catch him if you can.
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