'Battle tested' Jarrad Davis appreciates private workout with Lions
If there’s one concern that leaps out about new Detroit Lions linebacker Jarrad Davis, it’s his injury history.
Davis missed four games at Florida because of an ankle injury his senior season. In 2014, he was limited to nine games because of a torn meniscus.
The Lions still made him the No. 21 overall pick in Thursday's first round of the NFL draft after general manager Bob Quinn said he felt comfortable with Davis’ medical evaluation.
Davis said his injuries, specifically his recovery from the ankle injury, tested him.
“The process was tough, man,” he said in a teleconference with Detroit reporters. “The process was really challenging. But it was something that I want to say battle-tested me, man. It was something that really showed me what I have deep down inside.”
Davis proved to himself that he would return from a tough rehabilitation. But he also wanted to prove to NFL teams that he would remain the same productive player he was with the Gators.
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“Throughout the off-season,” he said, “I was very eager to get back to work and to build my body and show coaches across the country that, hey, I’m a guy that I haven’t lost a step. I’m still the same guy ya’ll see on film.”
Quinn said he liked Davis’ position versatility and that he projects him as a three-down player. Davis said he played both the middle and the weakside linebacker positions. But he played strictly in the middle his last two years and seemed to indicate he has a preference for the position.
“Being able to play that in the defense,” he said, “and have an opportunity to make almost every play and being smack in the middle of the defense it was a position I really enjoyed and really thrived off.”
Davis did not attend the draft in Philadelphia. He stayed home in Georgia and watched on television with his family. He got a call from Quinn, coach Jim Caldwell and owner Martha Ford.
Davis did not have a strong idea that the Lions might take him or what to expect from the draft. But he appreciated Quinn and the Lions taking the time to meet with him during a private workout in Florida.
“There were so many other athletes across the country that they could have probably gone to see," he said. "For them to come and sit down and talk with me and really break down what they do and then how they see things going with the organization, to make me a part of it is very special, too. So I really appreciate everything that they did.”
Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez. Download our Lions Xtra app for free on Apple and Android!