Raekwon Davis Cleared by the NCAA

[4Q Basket Case]

Barring injury, Davis will be in the rotation in Oxford. He won't start. But he will give 15-20 crucial snaps, providing much-needed quality depth, against a basketball-on-grass offense whose best runner is their QB.

This is huge.

Expect as many snaps against WKU as overall circumstances allow. He plays meaningful snaps when the game is still in doubt in Oxford.

 

[rgw]

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This is a big deal and congrats to Raekwon for putting in the work to get eligible and our compliance for putting in the leg work.

 

[Ole Man Dan]

My guess is Davis is 'Ready'. He will likely start showing up in games in the next couple of weeks.

 

[crimsonaudio]

Dude!!!

RTR

 

[JessN]

I don't know how much (if any) he'll play this week, because Alabama will go "small" more often than not against WKU's spread look. I think you're going to see a lot of Allen and Tomlinson working inside with Anderson and Williams lined up as DEs. I think he's more ready to play than Saban is letting on but he is essentially being elevated from the scout team now.

Going forward? He's going to play a ton, IMO.

 

[LA4Bama]

Happy for RD that he qualified!! Interesting, the intensity of the reaction in this thread. He must be pretty good to get this reaction. He's a big and tall guy, what role do people expect him to fill? Is he a big end or a true tackle who just happens to be really tall?

 

[TAKEPRIDE22]

Another BEAST of the puzzle for the defense is added...YES!!

 

[TrampLineman]

I think we fit him in as much as we can this week, imagine Ole $i$ seeing him this week wrecking the inside and him needing a double team against them. That would be huge.

 

[gtgilbert]

Happy for RD that he qualified!! Interesting, the intensity of the reaction in this thread. He must be pretty good to get this reaction. He's a big and tall guy, what role do people expect him to fill? Is he a big end or a true tackle who just happens to be really tall?

supposedly can play as both inside and outside DL and I think the expectation is that he'll provide depth to ensure we don't get the big guys tired.

 

[bamamc1]

Any news on Duron Carter?
couldn't resist. Great to hear about Davis RTR

 

[Tideflyer]

I think we fit him in as much as we can this week, imagine Ole $i$ seeing him this week wrecking the inside and him needing a double team against them. That would be huge.

Exactly what I was thinking and hoping to see. RD eating up 2 OL on double teams and freeing up the J. Allen`s of the world would be an absolute nightmare for OM (and everybody else, for that matter ).

 

[bamaslammer]

From what I have read Davis is not just a big run stuffer alone. Yes he's massive but he can also push the pocket. The excitement is because DL is our most glaring weakness in depth and anything that helps is great news. Not sure how much he helps this year but if he can give a starter a breather it could be crucial.

 

[Elefantman]

This sums up the reaction of OC across the SEC:

 

[Alakablamo]

I don't know how much (if any) he'll play this week, because Alabama will go "small" more often than not against WKU's spread look. I think you're going to see a lot of Allen and Tomlinson working inside with Anderson and Williams lined up as DEs. I think he's more ready to play than Saban is letting on but he is essentially being elevated from the scout team now.

Going forward? He's going to play a ton, IMO.

I would expect him to play the most against teams like Arkansas and LSU.

 

[rgw]

Raekwon Davis is not just a gap plugger. He's got freakish height for a football player, so that weight isn't indicative to how he looks on the football field. Will he be a load in run downs? Sure but I think he's got more explosiveness than many realize. He was the clear #2 to Payne most of camp.

 

[CrimsonForce]

Can Davis rush the passer at all or is he more of the type of DTs we used to recruit i.e. just hold the gap at the LOS and slow push the pocket..


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[crimsonaudio]

Can Davis rush the passer at all or is he more of the type of DTs we used to recruit i.e. just hold the gap at the LOS and slow push the pocket..

I don't think he's super quick - his 40 time out of HS was 5.49 - I think that's slower than any of our current tackles (looks like Tomlinson is the slowest at 5.15).

 

[Con]

He could probably hold his arm up and bat a pass down or impact the QB's thought of throwing over the middle.

 

[Intl.Aperture]

He could probably hold his arm up and bat a pass down or impact the QB's thought of throwing over the middle.

Yah I was thinking if he can even get his man a step or two back then all of a sudden that passing lane over the middle of the field is either gone or greatly diminished. "Affecting" the passer in those nearly imperceptible ways will be huge (no pun intended).

Please correct me if I'm mistaken but leverage is crucial at those interior positions and sometimes size can work against players Raekwon's size, does anyone have info on how well he uses his hands and leverages his opponents?

I keep hearing that he's talented so what would those who've seen him say his best tools are as a D-lineman?

 

[TiderJack]

Yah I was thinking if he can even get his man a step or two back then all of a sudden that passing lane over the middle of the field is either gone or greatly diminished. "Affecting" the passer in those nearly imperceptible ways will be huge (no pun intended).

Please correct me if I'm mistaken but leverage is crucial at those interior positions and sometimes size can work against players Raekwon's size, does anyone have info on how well he uses his hands and leverages his opponents?

I keep hearing that he's talented so what would those who've seen him say his best tools are as a D-lineman?

You are correct but with the new style offenses running spreads and OL rarely getting in three point stances I think his height is not going to hurt his leverage much. This guy is huge and strong and I think he will be very effective against the run and with bull rushes and as Con pointed out, getting his arms up and batting down passes. He will be a very welcome addition once he gets to game plan with the other guys who play a lot.