Did Ben Davis See the Field?

[pastorbt]

I caught the audio in the practice vid too. I also remember when he was in the game, I forget against who, that it seemed he got pushed around pretty bad. Now, FWIW, that can be the result of lack of strength, or dislike of contact, or no killer instinct. It could be the result of one, a combination, or all three. I do know that I am pulling for Ben! I'd love to see him all of a sudden get IT! I'd love to see him become the monster that we all thought he would become.

 

[Ledsteplin]

I know this is a rumor. I cant give a source but I heard that he doesn't like contact. That would explain why he doesn't see the field. Especially on Special Teams.

I'm not sure I believe that. How does a high school kid who doesn't like contact, make it into a Bama jersey?

 

[BamaHoHo]

I'm not sure I believe that. How does a high school kid who doesn't like contact, make it into a Bama jersey?

He was a big fish in small pond 3A. Has he even made it to double digits in plays as a redshirt sophomore. Still hasn’t played any on special teams. From all accounts, he is a great kid but something isn’t there.

 

[ROTYDE]

Ah the old Ben Davis thread, as infamous as the Hat thread. LOL

 

[B1GTide]

Well, if he was hurting the team Saban would have run him off long ago. He must be helping the team in some way, and his life will be vastly improved for his time invested at Alabama. Maybe not in the way that everyone planned, but that's life.

 

[RTR91]

Well, I think he was a five-star recruit, IIRC. OJ Howard was a five star from a small (1a or 2a) school, too. There was a period of adjustment for him, too, but it seems to have worked out well.


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Pretty different situations. While OJ played at Autauga Academy, he grew up in the Prattville school system before the school zone changed. He went through the equivalent to 6A junior high football. He played peewee football in Prattville.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Well, if he was hurting the team Saban would have run him off long ago. He must be helping the team in some way, and his life will be vastly improved for his time invested at Alabama. Maybe not in the way that everyone planned, but that's life.

Improved our recruiting ranking, I guess. Seriously, practice fodder is always needed. It's just unfortunate if they're rated as 5* coming out of HS...

 

[rgw]

Fayette Co HS is my alma mater and we're a little bit bigger than Gordo HS. The best performer we've sent to UA in my lifetime was Sam Collins and he was only a role player in the WR corp despite setting several state HS records for WRs here. Spencer Pennington was the best of a bad backup quarterback situation in 2004. Luke Tucker ended up transferring out and his older brother (now FCHS's HC) Lance Tucker was a holder and backup QB during the Barker/Kitchens time period.

It is a big step up from mid-tier classification AHSAA to the SEC.

 

[Power Eye]

Improved our recruiting ranking, I guess. Seriously, practice fodder is always needed. It's just unfortunate if they're rated as 5* coming out of HS...

Wasn't he in the same class as Josh Jacobs? If so, they can just switch rankings/stars.

 

[AlexanderFan]

Fayette Co HS is my alma mater and we're a little bit bigger than Gordo HS. The best performer we've sent to UA in my lifetime was Sam Collins and he was only a role player in the WR corp despite setting several state HS records for WRs here. Spencer Pennington was the best of a bad backup quarterback situation in 2004. Luke Tucker ended up transferring out and his older brother (now FCHS's HC) Lance Tucker was a holder and backup QB during the Barker/Kitchens time period.

It is a big step up from mid-tier classification AHSAA to the SEC.

35 catches his senior year is a more than a role player.

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/sam-collins-1.html


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[rgw]

35 catches his senior year is a more than a role player.

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/sam-collins-1.html


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Fair enough. I think he was the leading receiver in 2002 on a frankly 75% run team so I guess that is why I phrased it like that.

 

[twofbyc]

Pretty different situations. While OJ played at Autauga Academy, he grew up in the Prattville school system before the school zone changed. He went through the equivalent to 6A junior high football. He played peewee football in Prattville.

We’ll just disagree on that - junior high football isn’t comparable to high school, and for him he played HS football against extremely inferior competition. AISA, when he last played six years ago, provided him with little challenge individually.



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[JayRock]

I'm not sure I believe that. How does a high school kid who doesn't like contact, make it into a Bama jersey?

I have a friend that used to work closely with the team and he told me that some of the coaches used the word "soft" when Davis was mentioned. I hope he gets it together and can contribute. I'm definitely pulling hard for him.

 

[gtgilbert]

I have a friend that used to work closely with the team and he told me that some of the coaches used the word "soft" when Davis was mentioned. I hope he gets it together and can contribute. I'm definitely pulling hard for him.

maybe so - watching his HS highlights, he pretty often wouldn't directly engage blockers with force. he had a tendency to try and dip under, behind or around instead of engaging across the blockers face. he could get away with that in HS, but against really good college athletes, the OL will eat that up since they'll get hands on him faster if he tries to play off softly, and if he tries to cut behind a block an SEC RB is gone.