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About the Author: Scott Reynolds

Avatar Of Scott Reynolds
Scott Reynolds is in his 28th year of covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the vice president, publisher and senior Bucs beat writer for PewterReport.com. Author of the popular SR's Fab 5 column on Fridays, Reynolds oversees web development and forges marketing partnerships for PewterReport.com in addition to his editorial duties. A graduate of Kansas State University in 1995, Reynolds spent six years giving back to the community as the defensive coordinator/defensive line coach for his sons' Pop Warner team, the South Pasco Predators. Reynolds can be reached at: [email protected]

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There are two things the Tampa Bay Buccaneers must know as the team’s scouts and coaches descend on the 2018 Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. this week to evaluate some of the best NFL draft prospects. First, the Bucs ranked dead last in sacks in 2017 with a paltry 22 quarterback captures, and the team desperately needs some speed rushers off the edge given the fact that Noah Spence, a former second-round pick, has had two shoulder surgeries in two years that has limited his production.

Tampa CateringSecond, 2018 is not the year to be looking for pass-rushing defensive ends for a 4-3 scheme like the one defensive coordinator Mike Smith deploys in Tampa Bay.

In free agency there is Dallas’ DeMarcus Lawerence (14.5 sacks) and Detroit’s Ziggy Ansah (12 sacks) – both of whom are expected to receive the franchise tag if they don’t re-sign with their respective teams – and not much else in terms of proven sackers at the NFL level. In the draft there is North Carolina State defensive end Bradley Chubb, who is penciled in at No. 3 to Indianapolis – and not much else in the way of proven speed rushers with size and length.

Except for UTSA defensive end Marcus Davenport.

That’s University of Texas-San Antonio of Conference USA in case you didn’t know.

That’s where Davenport was the conference defensive player of the year after recording a career-high 8.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss, in addition to 55 tackles, four pass breakups, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery for a touchdown.

All eyes are on Davenport, who is being hyped as the next breakout defensive linemen at the Senior Bowl, joining the likes of Ansah (2013), defensive tackle Aaron Donald and Spence (2016) as players that significantly increased their draft stock with a good showing during the week in Mobile.

Davenport popped up on the radar of many Bucs fans this week when NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah forecast him to Tampa Bay at No. 7 in his initial first-round mock draft. In his introductory press conference at the Senior Bowl on Monday, PewterReport.com asked Davenport if he was worthy of being a top 10 pick.

Bucs De Noah Spence - Photo By: Eric Dellaratta/Pr

Bucs DE Noah Spence – Photo by: Eric Dellaratta/PR

“It’s yet to be proven,” Davenport said. “I like the idea of that. It was real cool seeing it, but I haven’t done anything yet. I know I’m not there and I’m only improving. We’ll see.

“I’m blessed to even be here. It wasn’t long ago that this was even a thought on my radar. … Late in my junior year, my coach told me there was a possibility [of being drafted], but I had a lot of work to do.”

Don’t take Davenport’s humility for a lack of confidence. The 6-foot-7, 255-pound defensive end has taken his meteoric rise up draft boards in stride, become quite sure of himself along the way.

“There is a big three that I try to imitate all of them at one point – Calais Campbell’s power, J.J. Watt’s motor and Von Miller’s speed,” Davenport said.

When asked what his best trait is, Davenport said, “My work ethic. I love this game and I love what I can do, so I just want to get better and be able to do it better.”

Davenport came to UTSA as a wide receiver, but switched to defensive end where he could use his long arms and tenacity to sack quarterbacks rather than catch their passes. He began gaining the necessary weight to play along the defensive line, and ultimately ate his way into becoming a top NFL draft prospect.

“I was 198 coming out of high school and the highest I’ve been was 264,” Davenport said. “Coming from my junior year to this senior year that’s where I experienced by biggest weight gain.”

What did Davenport do to pack on the pounds? Hitting the weight room and the grocery store.

“It was more like, ‘See food, eat food,’” Davenport said.

Aside from gaining weight, Davenport said that his coaches wanted him to “become more violent in my approach to the game and just better overall production.”

PewterReport.com asked Davenport if he reached the level of violence that his coaches desired from him this year.

“I like to believe that I’m violent, especially with my hands, I feel like I’ve made them proud with my approach, but I believe there’s still another level I can take it to,” Davenport said. “I had a chip on my shoulder, I feel like I always have something to prove.”

Utsa De Marcus Davenport - Photo By: Jeff Heuhn

UTSA DE Marcus Davenport – Photo by: Jeff Heuhn

So what does Davenport need to improve at the next level to truly take his game to the next level?

“The biggest thing I’ve seen, especially after watching so much film of myself, is disengaging, you know, getting off blocks, keeping a lower pad level,” Davenport said.

The San Antonio native showed improvement in getting after the quarterback every year for the Roadrunners defense, recording 2.5 sacks as a freshman, four sacks as a sophomore, and 6.5 sacks as a junior before recording 8.5 sacks as a senior.

Pro Football Focus gave Davenport an 89.8 grade, which ranked him as the fourth best edge defender in 2018 after he recorded 8.5 sacks, six quarterback hits and 34 hurries in just 257 rushes in 2017.

What NFL scouts and coaches will come to appreciate is not just Davenport’s production and work ethic on the football field, but also in the classroom. He took a full load of classes in order to graduate in December with a degree in multidisciplinary studies.

“Yeah, I took 18 hours,” Davenport said. “My coaches told me it would help me in the long run, so I had to grind it out. It was wake up, football, and then right after that I would get on some homework and watch film, then go through classes and then go do more homework and then watch film late at night.”

Taking 18 hours and still winding up with a career-high 8.5 sacks and the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year honors? That will surely leave the scouts, coaches and general managers impressed when they interview Davenport this week at the Senior Bowl.

But what impression does Davenport want to leave with the teams he interviews with?

“That guy is interesting,” Davenport said with a smile. “That’s the best way I can put it – he’s interesting.”

Consider the Buccaneers interested.

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