Clemson Football: Freshman Tyler Davis won’t back down in competition

Clemson football freshman Tyler Davis won’t back down from competition when it comes time to battle it out at defensive tackle.

Ask almost any analyst, staff member or alumni who watched Clemson football practice in the spring and it will be clear who caught the eyes of the bystanders.

Nearly every review coming out of spring practice raved on freshman Tyler Davis. From player interviews to bystanders watching, Davis’s name was constantly being thrown around as a standout contributor.

During the spring game, things were no different. The true-freshman enrolled in January and immediately made his impact felt. With Nyles Pinckney and Jordan Williams sitting out spring practice due to injuries, his talent and ability were even more amplified.

As we prepare for fall camp, one thing’s for certain: Davis is ready to contribute at Clemson this season and he won’t back down from competition.

The true-freshman likely won’t earn a starting job at defensive tackle this season with both Pinckney and Williams returning from injury, but there’s no reason to believe that he can’t win a second-string position and play starter-level snaps. Currently, it’s expected that Davis will be the backup behind Pinckney and that Xavier Kelly will be the backup behind Williams.

Davis won’t just compete with the likes of Darnell Jefferies, Kelly and a whole host of freshman for playing time this season, he’ll push Pinckney and make the interior defensive line better as a result.

Davis isn’t going to just accept a second-string position. He’s going to compete with Pinckney and challenge the veteran to win the job. The true-freshman is going to be a force to be reckoned with and very well could be a major factor next season, especially as the year progresses.

Before the end of the year, we expect that Davis will be one of the first players off the sideline defensively and will be a key contributor in important situations for the Tigers in 2019. He’s not going to back down like a typical freshman might because he’s no typical freshman.