UF’s Shawn Davis, drafted by Colts, first Southridge grad picked in NFL Draft since 2008
Twelve NFL Drafts had gone by since a team selected a player who graduated from Miami Southridge.
Shawn Davis has broken the drought.
TEAM selected Davis, who played collegiately for the Florida Gators, with the 21st pick in the fifth round — No. 165 overall — on Saturday. Davis is Southridge’s first alumnus to be drafted since the Detroit Lions selected Kevin Smith in the third round in 2008. Jeremiah McKinnon, who went undrafted out of FIU in 2016, was the last Spartans player to appear in a regular-season NFL game.
After primarily being used on special teams and as a defensive backup his first two seasons, Davis took over as a starting safety as a junior. He recorded 91 of his 124 tackles in that span along with all five of his interceptions.
Davis also finished his Florida career 5.5 tackle-for-loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in 37 games. UF has now had at least one defensive back drafted in each of the past six drafts and eight of the last nine drafts overall.
Prior to UF, Davis was a three-star prospect out of Miami Southridge, where he helped the Spartans win a Class 8A state championship as a senior in 2016. Davis recorded six interceptions that season for Southridge.
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein describes Davis as a “hard-hitting safety whose size, toughness and urgent demeanor will be appealing for NFL teams looking to add some attitude on the back end.”
“While he certainly embraces the role of enforcer when coming forward as a striker, too often his efforts will hit road bumps due to a lack of discipline with coming to balance and squaring/wrapping his target,” Zeirlein’s scouting report continues. “If a team can correct that issue, he has plenty of value in run support. Davis moves with fluidity and some explosiveness, but he has average instincts and anticipation to shade coverage and attack throws. He’s rangy over the top in two-deep and can play interchangeably in the box. His aggressiveness and versatility should create an opportunity as a good backup and eventual starter.”
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