All Gravy for Davie

Andrew Davie spends most of his time doing the grunt work. The Arkansas tight end helps clear the way for the Razorbacks’ stable of running backs and occasionally serves as a decoy on pass routes. But there are those times — and they are few — that Davie gets an opportunity to catch the ball.

Like last Saturday. Davie made a pair of touchdown receptions during Arkansas’ 44-8 rout of Ole Miss, a rare feat for a tight end in the program’s recent history. The last time it happened was when Jared Hicks scored on two catches in the Razorbacks’ 35-3 victory over the Rebels in 2004.

“I am obviously not the biggest receiving threat on the team,” said Davie, a 6-5, 265-pound sophomore. “But I have worked hard and earned a few things. The coaches have realized that.”

Before enrolling at Arkansas, Davie, 24, played minor league baseball for four years after being selected in the 32nd round of the 2001 amateur draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. His role expanded on the team after sophomore Ben Cleveland aggravated a nerve injury in his neck during the preseason.

“He’s very mature,” Arkansas coach Houston Nutt said. “He’s been a real leader. He has always worked hard. He’s a playmaker for us.”

Yet, Davie nor any of the other players who line up at the same position, have been serious receiving options on the team entering Saturday’s game against Florida International. No tight end really has since Jason Peters caught 21 passes for 218 yards and four touchdowns in 2003.

This year, Davie has five catches for 34 yards. D.J. Williams, a freshman, has hauled in only four passes for 82 yards. For much of the season, Arkansas junior quarterback Casey Dick has preferred dumping the ball to the running backs in short-yardage situations.

“Hopefully we can get a little more in the gameplan,” Davie said. “Casey has done a great job getting us the ball.”

OTHER NOTES

• Split end Marcus Monk continues to make progress and is expected to see some action this week against FIU. “He’s sore but he really pushed through it again today,” Arkansas coach Houston Nutt said. “He had another good practice. So really for the first time I feel confident he’ll at least get some plays. Don’t know how many, but he’ll get some.”
• Wide receiver London Crawford left practice early Wednesday. It was his first day back since straining his neck. “Crawford was back out for a while, then he got re-injured somehow,” Nutt said. “I’ve got to find out exactly what happened. It was during one-on-ones.”
• Adrian Davis is now listed as a co-starter at right defensive end with Antwain Robinson. “To get our best situation out there, we’ve moved Adrian Davis to starting defensive end for second down,” Arkansas defensive coordinator Reggie Herring said. ” Third down, Antwain goes end for pass rush, which is what he does best.”

Filed under: Arkansas Football by Rainer Sabin. Posted on: October 24, 2007 at 7:53 pm