Although Jaden Davis just joined the Miami Hurricanes this summer, his relationships with some of his current teammates go back years.
Davis, a Fort Lauderdale native and St. Thomas Aquinas High alumnus, spent years playing with and against other South Florida defensive backs who are now his teammates with the Hurricanes.
“Jaden Davis and I have been playing since we were about six years old,” said UM cornerback Daryl Porter Jr., an American Heritage alumnus. “That’s when we met, playing seven on seven. So we go back a lot.”
Those relationships helped Davis adjust to life at UM, and now the former South Florida star looks like a shrewd offseason addition to the Hurricanes’ coaching staff. Through three games, Davis is the Hurricanes’ highest-rated defensive player with over 100 snaps.
“He fit perfectly, and I would say more than fit perfectly,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “He does a good job as a leader and has not been too eloquent, perhaps because, again, it is almost a novelty, the novelty of just arriving, but you cannot ask more of a man than what we have obtained from him . “Jaden.”
Davis also has long-standing ties with Miami defensive back Te’Cory Couch, who played at Chaminade-Madonna in Hollywood. They played at different high schools, but both played for the South Florida Express seven-on-seven team. Although they hadn’t played together in years, Couch knew the Hurricanes were adding a skilled player.
“We have a lot of memories, a lot of chemistry playing together because he played corner and nickel for the South Florida Express just as well as I did, so we both have chemistry,” Couch said. “But he’s grown tremendously, man. “Just a great leader, very instinctive and plays very physical.”
Davis has started at cornerback in all three of UM’s games so far this season and has rewarded the coaches who put him in that role. He is third on the team with 11 tackles and leads the team with three pass deflections. Pro Football Focus gives him an overall defensive grade of 82.4 and a coverage grade of 79.0. The overall grade is 10th nationally (and third in the ACC) among cornerbacks with 50-plus snaps this season, and the coverage grade is 32nd nationally (sixth in the ACC).
“He is a great athlete,” Cristóbal said, “and he has a natural, very instinctive sense, a very natural sense not only for the aerial game but also for formations, movements, understanding the divisions and what they mean in relation to with certain situations of depression and distance.”
But Davis’ biggest play for the Hurricanes so far wasn’t in pass coverage. With Miami up five points against Texas A&M near the end of the third quarter, Davis intervened in run defense when Aggies running back Amari Daniels took the handoff. Davis lunged to tackle Daniels and put her helmet directly on the ball, forcing her to let go. Safety Kamren Kinchens recovered the fumble and the Hurricanes turned it into a touchdown to take a 38-26 lead.
Davis has excelled in run defense and pass rushing when asked to do so this year. He has two quarterback pressures in his four pass rush attempts, and has an 85.4 run defense grade, which ranks eighth nationally among cornerbacks.
“I’m a smaller guy. “Every little guy wants to be big,” Davis said. “Every little kid wishes they could stick their hand in the dirt or come off the edge and rush the passer, and (defensive coordinator Lance) Guidry played safety, so he knows how much fun that is. Soccer is fun, and being able to blitz and being trained for it, we work all summer long.”
With Kinchens still out following his undisclosed injury against Texas A&M, Davis could slide in and play safety in Miami’s upcoming games. He has primarily played outside corner, but part of his value to the Hurricanes is his ability to play wherever needed.
“He’s just an out-of-the-box guy,” Guidry said. “You can put it anywhere. You can put him at safety, nickel, corner, so that he has earned his stripes and the players know it. So, going forward, he is a great leader on defense, especially at the back. I think he will play better and better.”
