The secondary in Tampa is gonna be something to pay close attention to this season. That’s usually the case for any team. But the BUCS have one of youngest groups of defensive backs and safeties in the entire League. Again.

At the end of last season, 4 out of the 5 starters in the secondary were either finishing up their second year of experience or their very first. And those young cats got tested big time. Playing opposite of the offense that led the League in turnovers, the secondary definitely got put through the fire early and often.

Carlton Davis is going into his 3rd season knowing all about going through fire and tested early.

In 2018, he started his career off on the road. In the Crescent City. Against Drew Brees.

Brees seemingly went after the rookie Davis. He was targeted 8 times. And Brees connected on 6 of those for 98 yards and a TD. Though the BUCS went on to shock New Orleans for the win, it was noted that Davis had his work cut out for him. There was lots of work to be done to get him up to speed with playing against the top competition in the League. I, for one, had no doubt he’d be up for the challenge.

It felt as though I had seen Davis’ skill set have success in Tampa before. And I had.

Davis reminded so much of former DB Johnthan Banks.

Both 2nd Round draft picks.

Both SEC standouts capable of excellent man coverage.

But Banks had one clear advantage during his rookie season. He had the proverbial veteran leadership of an established player guiding him. All World DB Darrelle Revis was aboard the ship while Banks went through his paces in his first season. Even though it wasn’t the version of Revis many had known for years, it was still the presence and experience of a top tier player helping Banks navigate the ins and outs at the professional level.

Carlton Davis had Vernon Hargreaves to look to. And Hargreaves was fighting to validate both his draft position and his roster spot. Huge difference. Right?

Davis went to on to have an up and down rookie season and he had his lumps. But he never looked out of place. He never made me wonder if there was someone else that should take his spot and play against the opposition’s WR1.

With a year under his belt and some hard lessons learned, Davis entered his 2nd season looking to improve on his rookie campaign. And that he did.

His coverage got better. He was dialed in. He made big plays.

Again, like Banks, this progression came while learning a completely different defensive system under a different head coach. Not an easy task.

His 19 pass break-ups was tied for 2nd best among CBs in the NFL. Just one fewer than Stephon Gilmore of the New England Patriots who is considerably one of the best in the League. That’s not something to take lightly. Personally, I think a CB that gets his hands in the way of a pass is more infuriating to a QB than one that gets an actual interception. After an interception, a QB can possibly chalk it up to a bad decision on his part. But a pass break-up is generally a tremendous effort or good skill by a defender.

Obviously, the interception is more celebrated and highlight worthy. And the lack of INTs are one of the reasons Davis has been flying under the radar.

Yet, just about every other statistic suggests that Davis improved significantly in his 2nd season.

Every free agency period, it seems the pleas for a veteran presence in the secondary get louder and louder. Going into his 3rd year, Davis IS that veteran presence.

He’s old enough to share his experience and struggle as a blueprint for the few guys with lesser experience.

Still, he’s young enough to share the same desire to make a name for himself as those guys as well.

It’s understandable to believe a person with more experience on a winning team can help lead a pack of hungry up and comers. But, there’s something more genuine about actually watching a group go through the struggle together as opposed to hearing stories of previous glory.

This season, I’m fully expecting Carlton Davis III a/ka/ “C-Murda” to makes moves and lead his unit to a higher level of play.

Keep watching.

#PayAttention