Davis, Maye shine at Pro Day coming back from injuries
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Tuesday presented a big opportunity for linebacker Jarrad Davis and safety Marcus Maye. After sitting out of drills during the NFL Scouting Combine last month with their respective injuries, Davis (ankle) and Maye (arm) both participated in the full set of drills Tuesday during Florida’s Pro Day inside of the indoor practice facility.
Ultimately, both players were two of the standouts on Pro Day.
Davis opened plenty of eyes with his vertical jump (38.5 inches) and broad jump (129 inches), then ran a 4.56 unofficial 40-yard dash. The first two would have been the best numbers at the combine among linebackes, and the 40 the second best behind just Jabrill Peppers.
“That was the fastest 40 that I’ve run in my life. For it to come up today, it’s the best day,” Davis said Tuesday. “I felt like it went good. I came out here with the mindset of coming out and showing everybody I’m the same athlete I was before. Just showing an ankle injury is an ankle injury. That happens, but I can bounce back every time. I came out here today wanting to show guys that I’m going to compete, I’m going to compete at the top level. I’m going to execute every time I get a chance to. I feel like I did that.”
Meanwhile, Maye excelled in a number of drills, showcasing his quickness, athleticism and ball skills. He ran unofficially in the range of high 4.4 to low 4.5 during Pro Day, with a time that would have been among some of the best of the safeties at the combine.
"Everybody's been saying I've been doing pretty well, so just keep it up, good job. All positive feedback,” Maye said. "Ever since the bowl game in January, once that was over with I got to Pensacola and hit the ground running trying to get my arm back right through rehab. I got that rolling, I started back working out on the field and stuff like that, in the weight room, so you know, it's going pretty well."
There’s been plenty of talk that Davis could have catapulted himself into the first-round discussion with his performance at Pro Day. After all, Tuesday was truly the first time NFL types have been able to see Davis work out without any limitations since the 2016 regular season, where an ankle injury hampered Davis throughout the second half of the year.
“I think it was important for me to wait until today,” Davis said. “I didn’t have a lot of time to train, like two and a half weeks total, but for me to have just gotten ready to run, I was just getting able to run at The Combine, I don’t think I would have done that well. I think I would have done pretty good, but not this well.”
“I set marks for myself and really pushed myself to train and compete. If I didn’t get those times, I’d have to go back and put some more work in. I had two and a half weeks. I feel like I was in good shape coming out here ready to work.”
Many scouts felt Davis helped himself with how he did at the combine even without participating in drills. He measured in well, plus impressed plenty with his demeanor during interviews.
“The biggest thing for me, I knew coming into The Combine that guys wanted to know what kind of a person I was off the field,” explained Davis. “They see the player I am on the field. Guys, a lot of coaches and teams they loved it. I think that’s what they determined. For me to go in The Combine, the only mindset I had was go in there and show them the young man that your mom and dad raised, and I did exactly that.
“I didn’t try to hide anything, I didn’t sugarcoat anything. I think that’s where a lot of guys mess up. They go in there and try to put on something they’re not. They want to see exactly who you are so they know who they’re going to pick. I just wanted to go in and let them know this is exactly who you have, this is exactly who you’re going to get every single day.”
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