Aug. 22, 2016
By Charles Goldberg
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. – Stanton Truitt has a quick answer to who is the fastest Auburn football player.
"No races. I'm going with Javaris Davis."
Davis was the quickest in individual 40-yard dashes in the spring with a time so fast that it would challenge pretty much all of recorded time. Now, the Auburn cornerback wants to use that speed, said to be 4.18 in the 40, to disrupt opposing offenses.
Still, he shrugs off talk he's the fastest around.
"I don't know about all that. I think there are a lot of fast people on the team," he said. "I'm just happy they think I'm the fastest."
Ironically, the fastest of all has had to wait his turn. He was redshirted last season.
"It was a very humbling experience. It really helped me mature more and got me better, bigger and stronger," Davis said.
"I'm finally getting an opportunity. So I have to just take advantage of my opportunity and just do what he coaches ask and try to do my job."
Davis is competing for a cornerback spot with Josh Holsey John Broussard, Marshall Taylor and Stephen Roberts.
Davis watched last season as freshman defensive backs Carlton Davis and Jeremiah Dinson played. No hard feelings there. Davis said he learned a lot.
"That helped me tremendously because they're my two main cats," he said. "I'm around them a lot. I talk to them after every game and they were telling me just to stay focused and keep working. Eventually I knew I was going to be out there so I just had to get ready."
Coach Gus Malzahn said Davis' confidence has grown since last season.
"He was extremely talented, even last year when we redshirted him," Malzahn said. "He's more confident. And he can really run. He's super fast, probably our fastest."
And in the competitive cornerback race, "Javaris is the first one out there right now."
Davis said uses that speed as he gains experience.
"That helps me a lot because I can do different things with my technique," he said. "I know that sometimes if I mess up I can recover with my speed."
Receiver Marcus Davis sees that speed in practice, saying the defensive back can hound a receiver.
"He nags you a lot. He can run. He can give you a little extra at the line because he knows he can run with you. It's always good to go against him because he's a competitive guy. He's always around the
ball."
Davis says he learning and asking for advice. Having Holsey around for his fifth season helps.
"Josh is a veteran. He stays on me and pushes me," Davis said. "He's been through this so he knows how the game is going to go. He'll tell me what the receiver is going to do before they even do it. We're always watching film together. He helps me a lot."