Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 30, 2021 17 BY PATRICK ENGEL A very Davis had to know the ball would come his way. This setup was too favorable for it not to find him. On a third-and-seven play early in the second half during Notre Dame's 27-13 win over Purdue Sept. 18, Davis lined up in the slot with Boilermakers nickel back Chris Jefferson across from him — several yards downfield and over his outside shoulder. The two safeties were low, worried about sophomore tight end Michael Mayer and shorter routes near the line to gain. But Davis was about to go deep, with Jefferson as his only obstacle. He saw it. Surely, he knew gradu- ate student quarter- back Jack Coan saw it too. And it was third down. These are the spots where quarter- backs often look the graduate student slot receiver's way. Davis gave Jefferson a false step toward the outside about 10 yards into his route, then broke toward the post with no re- sistance. The ball plopped right into his outstretched arms about 40 yards downfield for a 62-yard, momentum- swinging, pitch-and-catch touchdown. Too easy. And in hindsight, too pre- dictable. In a good way. No matter the quarterback, and Notre Dame has rotated them plentifully, there's a clear rapport with Davis. Especially in high-stakes moments. No Irish wide receiver has more third- or fourth- down targets than Davis' 13, which trails only Mayer on the team. He has turned them into six catches for 122 yards and a touchdown. Davis is neither Notre Dame's most physically imposing pass catcher nor its most dominant. He is, though, its steadi- est wide receiver with under-appreciated speed and an innate feel for taking what a defense gives him. He has been explosive, too, averaging 17.1 yards per catch. "Very intelligent, since he's a for- mer quarterback," senior wide receiver Braden Lenzy said of Davis. "He's a captain for a reason. He's probably the hardest worker on the team." If that makes him a security blanket or a glue guy more than a star, so be it. What matters is passes keep heading his direc- tion when Notre Dame needs a first down, when the offense needs a boost or when a quarterback wants to find a rhythm. There's a reason Davis led all Notre Dame wide receivers in snaps (338) through six games. He has hauled in at least one 20- yard reception from all three Notre Dame quarterbacks who have played this year. "Trust goes into it," Davis said. "Throughout camp and in my role last year, I had a lot of third-down situations as well. It's experience in those situations." It's not just third down, though. Nor is his chemistry exclusive to Coan. Take the second half of Notre Dame's 41-13 win over Wisconsin Sept. 25 as an example. Sophomore Drew Pyne relieved an injured Coan in a 10-10 tie, and everyone at Sol- dier Field that afternoon understood he had to throw the ball for the Irish to win. Notre Dame's run game was predictably absent against a stout Badgers defense. It also needed points. Pyne's first pass went to Davis on a scramble for 15 yards. So did his second, this one for 17 yards. Backup quarter- back and starting wide receiver looked entirely in sync. One week earlier against Purdue, Notre Dame's offense took the field for its fourth drive after mustering just six yards on 10 plays the previous three possessions. The first play was a Coan to Davis corner route for 20 yards, where Davis settled in the opening between the deep and under- neath defender against zone coverage. The drive ended in a touchdown. To no one's surprise, Davis was right in the middle of Notre Dame's adventurous fourth-quarter comeback at Virginia Tech. Coan, the benched starter turned late- game rescuer, fired Davis' way on a 23- yard catch that put Notre Dame in the red zone. He hit Davis for a four-yard touchdown on a pick play that pulled Notre Dame within two points. And even though senior wide receiver Kevin Aus- tin Jr. caught the tying two-point conver- sion, Davis was the first read on the play. Davis isn't blind to one factor that helps him get open and make timely catches. Game- planning for Notre Dame's passing offense starts with Mayer and Austin. Those two get attention from defen- sive coordinators dur- ing film sessions and the opposing defense's best players on game day. That means instead of a matchup with Cincinnati All-America corner Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner, who humbled Austin in an Oct. 2 loss with sticky press coverage, Davis sees ample one-on-ones against slower defenders and off coverage. It's a friendlier situation than the physical corners Austin sees or the double-teams Mayer encounters. Still, Davis has to take advantage and actually make the plays. "He's in a position in the slot that gets matched up quite a bit with linebackers," Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said. His eyes widen when he sees a line- backer over him or a safety 10 yards deep. "I just get excited," Davis said. "Not too excited, but knowing this is a look I can win on. I feel like that on most looks because you really have to be confident. "But when it's obvious like super off- coverage with a route I can win on — if he's giving me outside leverage and I have an in-breaking route — some things like that, I'm really confident." And in turn, Notre Dame's quarter- backs are confident in him. "I don't think anyone's really sur- prised at his success," Lenzy said. "I know I'm not." ✦ GLUE GUY No matter the quarterback, trustworthy Avery Davis keeps showing up in important moments "Trust goes into it. Throughout camp and in my role last year, I had a lot of third-down situa- tions as well. It's experience in those situations." DAVIS Davis had more third- and fourth-down targets (13) than any Irish wide receiver entering the USC game, turning them into six catches for 122 yards and a touchdown. His rapport with all three Notre Dame quarterbacks has been noticeable, especially in big moments. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER