A quick search of new Florida Gators running back Malik Davis (5-10, 190, Tampa, FL. Jesuit) shows that he has piled up quite the stat sheet in high school football.
Just two weeks Davis broke the Hillsborough County rushing record that was held by now Clemson Tigers athlete Ray Ray McCloud and before that Davis broke the scoring record in Hillsborough.
Everyone knows by now that Davis is a great athlete but Gator Country spoke to Jesuit head coach Matt Thompson and to Big County Preps founder Preston Jackson to get a more in-depth take on Davis.
Thompson who coached at Armwood High School before taking over at Jesuit compares Davis to some of the great players to ever come out of the Tampa/Seffner area.
“On the field, he’s a humble kid, he has all of those attributes that you find in a once in a lifetime player,” Thompson said of Davis. “I’ve been coaching for 24 years and I can count on one hand the number of guys that are like Malik. He’s right up there with the Leon McQuay’s, Eric Stricker’s and Matt Jones’ that I’ve coached in the past.”
Davis is the guy at Jesuit and he knows just like the rest of his team but he never shies away from crediting his teammates or taking the extra step for his team.
“He gives credit to his offensive line every chance he gets,” Thompson said. “He’s not a real flashy kid that does a whole bunch of stuff in the endzone, he just does his business. He’s a work horse and you can’t tire him out. Last year he ran the ball 51 times in one game and after about 30 carries, I asked him if he was all right and he just wanted to keep going. He ran for 357 yards in that game.”
With multiple county records, what more can Davis do in high school you might ask? Well he’s not afraid to listen to his coaches to improve for the next level according to his coach.
“Dave Moore is one of my coaches that played in the NFL for 20 years or so said that the one thing about Malik is not only is he extremely talented but he’s the most coachable kid,” Thompson said. “He takes all of that knowledge in no matter what coach tells him.”
Listening to coaches is something that also help Davis improve off the field according to Big County preps as this offseason the running back spent a lot of time in the weight room.
“With Malik is his willingness to improve in the weight room,” Preston Jackson of Big County Preps said. “That has helped him avoid injuries, get bigger and faster and even more explosive. He’s dedicated to the weight room so he can take the load and carry the ball.”
Right now Davis is 190-pounds but after being in a college weight room with his work ethic he will get bigger, but Jackson believes he doesn’t need to get too big.
“I think for him to be productive at Florida, I think he needs to stay at about 210 and under,” Preston Jackson said. “He’s got the body size to put on really good weight and it will be all muscle but for him to keep his speed and explosiveness I think he needs to stay at 210 or less.”
All of the on the field stuff shows that Davis is a heck-uva of an athlete but his coach says he’s even a better person off the field.
“Off the field, he’s the most likeable kid on campus,” Thompson said. “Everybody, even the freshmen like him. He’s not a big time guy, you wouldn’t even know that he was the county record holder for rushing. He’s a great kid that everyone is going to like.”
Davis has two more regular season games and then his team will enter the playoffs and with those games, the running back should break the 6,000-yard mark. Davis only needs a little more than 200 yards to break that feat.