Could Malik Davis have a future as a slot receiver?
Florida running back Malik Davis has had a bit of a tumultuous career in the Orange and Blue. The former three-star recruit did well for himself as a true freshman in 2017, rushing for 526 yards and two scores on 79 carries in seven games before he suffered a season-ending injury. But his second year was cut short after just three games due to another injury, and by 2019, he found himself behind Lamical Perine and Dameon Pierce in the pecking order. He was Floridas No. 2 back a year ago, and that saw his production surge to its best level since his true freshman season, as he totaled 310 yards on the ground. Heading into 2021, however, UFs running back room is crowded. Last years leading rusher, Pierce, is back, and redshirt freshman NayQuan Wright was very impressive, totaling 432 yards that were almost evenly split between rushing and receiving. On top of that, two former five-star recruits  Lorenzo Lingard and Demarkcus Bowman  are also on the roster. Lingard is a transfer from Miami who was limited by injuries last year with the Gators, seeing just five attempts in four games. Bowman initially signed with Clemson, seeing nine attempts in two games last season before the Lakeland native decided to transfer closer to home. Though the redshirt senior is the most veteran member of the group, he has a difficult path to the field. At least, he does at running back. But since spring, its been heavily speculated that Davis talents could be best served at a different position: slot receiver. Catching the ball out of the backfield wasnt a very big part of Davis game in his first three seasons. Prior to 2020, the most receptions he had in a season were seven. But he caught the ball 31 times last year, totaling 377 yards through the air (67 more than he had on the ground). He was kept out of the end zone, but he demonstrated that his abilities extend beyond carrying the ball. GatorCountrys David Wunderlich wrote about the possibility of Davis making the switch to slot receiver, drawing comparisons between him and another UF player who made that change: Brandon Powell. That move worked wonders for Powell, who never totaled more than 70 yards rushing in a season for Florida but has been on an NFL roster since he went undrafted in 2018. Wunderlich seems to think not necessarily. Davis already proved to be more of a vertical threat than Powell ever was on his wheel routes last fall, but you dont run a lot of wheels from the slot, he wrote. He has shown some elusiveness that hed need in order to play in the slot, but hed also run a completely different set of routes than what hes done so far.  Further, Wunderlich argues that Davis wasnt drawing top defenders when he lined up in the backfield, but if he were placed in the slot, he would see coverage from athletic nickel corners. He also says that Davis success in the passing game stemmed from the need to watch for the run. If Davis lined up exclusively at receiver, it would spoil much of the mystery and could limit his success. Ultimately, Wunderlich lands at the conclusion that Davis may be best served to stay at running back and potentially see more action in the passing game on two-back sets rather than line up on the outside, as some have suggested. I dont know that moving Davis to full-time receiver is the ultimate answer, he wrote. I do expect him to continue to be a good pass catcher, and pairing him up in two-back formations with a Pierce or a Lingard might be the easier solution to getting more running backs more snaps. His flexibility would all the more easily create problems in those sets when theyre combined with tempo to prevent the defenses from substituting. If opposing DCs go heavy because thats what you do when you see a two-back set, then Davis might really get to clown slow linebackers all year long.  There are other reasons to think this move is unlikely. When Powell made the switch, it was at a time where Florida was sorely lacking at receiver and looking for an influx of production. Now, thats not the case. Though the top-three receivers from a year ago are gone, Florida still returns talented veterans like Jacob Copeland and Justin Shorter, as well as young guys like Xzavier Henderson and Trent Whittemore, who both saw a good bit of action in 2020. Its hard to see where Davis fits into that group, even if it lacks a clear slot receiver like Kadarius Toney was. And considering the fact that spring practice came and went without any news of a position change, it seems Davis will have to battle it out at running back, once again.