July Player Performance Index top 30 deep dive: No. 29 CB Jaden Davis

CaneSport is breaking down the top 30 Miami players on the roster, and today we’re at No. 29, CB Jaden Davis.

THE BIG PICTURE

Davis arrived this summer as a second portal transfer from Oklahoma into a crowded cornerback room … with a wide open depth chart. This spring saw Davonte Brown and Daryl Porter, Jr. as the two main boundary first team corners. But it speaks volumes that since the spring the Miami coaches also added Davis, Ja’Dais Richard out of Vanderbilt plus JUCO corner Demetrius Freeney. The team now has 11 cornerbacks on the roster; last year the team carried nine. Which brings us back to Davis. He didn’t fare particularly well in his time at Oklahoma, but he did start 22 games there and that experience is invaluable. He has big upside, just has to really hone in on his craft under a new coaching staff.

THE ANALYSIS

Davis has talent but didn’t hold up well in coverage at Oklahoma – perhaps the tutelage of a guy like Jahmile Addae will really get him to live up his potential. And Davis has a high ceiling. In a cornerback room without proven top end talent Miami needs someone to step up, and we think Davis is a likely guy that can do that. He started 22 games in his four seasons at Oklahoma, so he has experience and talent (he’s a former 4-star). But he just didn’t do real well for a Sooners D that wasn’t particularly good. Last year he had 35 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 PBU and one QB hurry. He graded out at 62.3 overall per Pro Football Focus and 60.8 percent in coverage while allowing opposing QBs to hit on 16 of 30 passes vs. him for 202 yards. Maybe a fresh start for him at Miami will be the answer, and he can be the answer for the Canes helping replace Tyrique Stevenson and DJ Ivey.

THE PROJECTION

As we go through the rest of this top 30 list, you’ll see only nickel Te’Cory Couch and fellow boundary corner Davonte Brown ranked ahead of Davis. So yes, we are projecting Davis ahead of Porter, Jr. as the second starting CB along with Brown right now. But Davis will have to earn it with hard work this summer and into fall camp. There are a lot of numbers in the cornerback room, with five of them transfers, so the battle for the two boundary corner spots is going to be intense. May the best man win. Assuming Davis does indeed emerge we’d see a season with maybe 40 tackles and a couple of interceptions. We just aren’t sold on his top end ability yet simply based on some of the issues he had at Oklahoma in coverage.

THE JUMP HE NEEDS FROM SPRING TO FALL CAMP

In Davis’ case he needs to make a jump from Oklahoma to Miami not just in the physical sense but also in his play on the field. He wasn’t consistent enough with the Sooners, and the hope is a move back to his South Florida home can spur what had made him one of the area’s most coveted recruits in the Class of 2019. Consistency with his technique is going to be key, and you better believe Jahmile Addae will be working tirelessly with Davis to make sure he’s able to hold up one-on-one in a Lance Guidry attacking defense that needs its corners to be on point.

THE QUOTE

“Always had to prove myself right my whole life this ain’t nothing new let’s work.” -Jaden Davis on Twitter May 1 after announcing his decision to become a Miami Hurricane

The post July Player Performance Index top 30 deep dive: No. 29 CB Jaden Davis appeared first on On3.