Davis anxious to step up with Southern California
Fred Davis graduated from Rogers High School last January, months earlier than his classmates. By the time the 2004 class graduated last spring, he already had taken classes at the University of Southern California.
It was all for the purpose of improving his chances to play football as an incoming freshman at Southern Cal, the defending co-national champion.
When USC meets Virginia Tech tonight in the nationally televised BCA Classic (ESPN, 7:30), Davis expects to play in his first college game.
"It's gone by so fast, but I'm really excited and I can't wait to play," he said this week.
The former Rams three-sport standout was a marked man as a wide receiver in his senior season, regularly commanding extra attention when he lined up as a wide receiver or even in the backfield as a running back or quarterback.
Davis, who chose USC over Ohio State, Miami, and Florida, was recruited as a wide receiver. However, most of his future playing time as a Trojan may come at a tight end. Since Davis left Toledo last February for Los Angeles he's packed on roughly 20 pounds of muscle, and currently stands 6-4 and weighs 235 pounds.
Davis may see time as a wide receiver and as a tight end against Virginia Tech. With depth at wide receiver one of the team's strengths, Davis asked his coaches to give him a try at tight end.
"With the weight I've gained, which I really didn't try to gain, I thought playing tight end might help me get on the field faster," he said.
So far the experiment has worked well for him. He's been splitting practice time between the split ends and tight ends. In recent intrasquad scrimmages he's performed at the level that had Division I college coaches and recruiters flocking to northwest Ohio as often as politicians seeking the presidency.
Davis, who hasn't lost any speed with the weight gain, caught touchdown passes of 80, 45, and 28 yards during recent Trojan scrimmages. He's made significant strides in recent weeks compared to last spring, when he struggled with nagging injuries as he tried to make the adjustment from high school to college, on and off the football field.
"The game is so much faster, there are more smarter players and everybody gets to the ball," Davis said. "Physically, I'm ready. I just have to make sure I'm always ready physically and mentally."
Life on the left coast, thousands of miles from family and friends, has been an adjustment for Davis, who has made a couple of trips to Toledo from Los Angeles during the last five months. He has experienced homesickness, but that doesn't mean he has second thoughts about his decision to attend the Pac-10 university in L.A.
"It has already clicked for me during the summer workouts," said Davis. "We're the best team in the nation, and I want to be a part of all that."
Davis, who may also see playing time on special teams against Virginia Tech, looks forward to playing before what will be the largest crowd he's ever played in front of, at FedEx Field in suburban Washington, D.C., the home of the Washington Redskins. A crowd of 50,000 is possible.
"It's going to be a really big game for us. Virginia Tech is really good and everyone will be watching."
