Charlotte 49ers offensive lineman Nate Davis catching eye of NFL scouts

At first glance, Charlotte 49ers right guard Nate Davis isn’t a player to seek attention.

Then again, offensive linemen rarely are.

But in just his second season as a starter, Davis is having the kind of impact that’s drawing the attention of professional football scouts.

While NFL scouts attend Charlotte’s practices almost weekly to watch all-conference nose tackle Larry Ogunjobi, they’re also throwing a glance or two Davis’ way.

“He’s a very talented guy, but he’s still just a sophomore,” Charlotte coach Brad Lambert said of Davis, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound redshirt sophomore whose footwork, technique and mobility are strengths. “(Pro scouts) are always looking ahead.

“It’s like when we go out and recruit, a coach will always say, ‘Hey, you need to keep an eye on this sophomore.’ So I’m sure they’ve got him on the radar. They’re always staying ahead. They’re primarily looking at Larry, but Nate’s a very talented guy, no question about it.”

Making the switch

Davis hasn’t always been an offensive lineman. He he primarily played defense from the time he was a child in youth leagues.

“I was actually a defensive lineman, beginning with Pop Warner and stuff like that,” Davis said. “It wasn’t until high school that I got moved to the offensive line.”

That was before his sophomore season at Stone Bridge High in Ashburn, Va. Bulldogs coach Mickey Thompson said the position switch was made to take advantage of Davis’ athletic ability.

“We tried to get a more athletic offensive line,” Thompson said. “As far as getting a push and being able to get off the ball, he was the best we had. He really took to it.”

Davis admits adjusting to the change took time.

“At first, it was a little different,” he said. “You have to change how you line up and the mindset you have going into the game. But over the years, I gradually got it.”

As a junior, Davis led an offensive line that helped Stone Bridge rush for nearly 3,400 yards en route to the Virginia AAA Division 5 championship game. He was all-state as a senior, when the Bulldogs were 9-3.

On recruiting radar

As Davis’ performance improved, so did the attention from college recruiters, particularly after his junior season.

However, while he had offers from three other programs – Old Dominion (Charlotte’s opponent Saturday in its Conference USA opener), Toledo and a late pitch from Virginia Tech – Davis had committed to Charlotte before his senior year.

Lambert’s ties to Stone Bridge played a role in Davis’ decision. While an assistant at Wake Forest, Lambert recruited and coached two of coach Thompson’s sons (Patrick and Zach). Thompson’s youngest son, Joe, is a redshirt freshman quarterback with the 49ers.

“When I went by, he really ranted and raved about Nate,” Lambert said. “His word means a lot to me, so we dug into it, watched the film and made the offer.”

The lure of joining a new program – Charlotte’s first season was in 2013 – also intrigued Davis.

“Being able to start something new, something fresh was nice,” Davis said. “But it was really the coaching staff. They believe in you and care about you on and off the field. That’s something you can’t get from every program.”

On the sideline

Davis was redshirted his first year with the 49ers in 2014 – to allow him to develop as a player and improve his grades, Lambert said.

Davis admits that time off the field was pivotal.

“That extra year I got looking over film, studying the playbook and digesting it, it really helped me out,” he said. “Learning from the older guys like Jamal (Covington) and Thomas La Bianca, seeing how they carried themselves also helped.”

What Davis accomplished during his time away from the field impressed Lambert.

“He couldn’t come to meetings and he couldn’t come to practice, but he could still come over (to use facilities),” said Lambert, noting Davis was also academically inelibigle as a freshman.

“He could still lift (weights), he could still watch tape, but he had to do those things by himself. That’s always tough for a player, but it showed me what kind of guy he is.”

On the field

Davis played his first game with Charlotte in its 2015 season opener against Georgia State – the 49ers’ first win against a Football Bowl Subdivision program – and moved into the starting lineup two weeks later.

He’s been Charlotte’s starting right guard ever since, and he’s noticed a positive attitude in the team since 2015.

“We’ve grown so much,” he said. “Just looking around, our team is so much more together than last year, on and off the field. We hang out with each other off the field now, and we’ve got each other’s backs.

“Team wise, we’ve definitely grown. That’s something we can definitely look back on and be proud of.”

That also has Davis and teammates believing the 49ers can improve on last year’s record (2-10 overall, 0-8 C-USA).

“We’re looking to show the conference what we can really do,” Davis said. “We really didn’t get to do that last year. This is our opportunity, and we’ve got to take advantage of it.”

This story was originally published September 30, 2016 at 7:21 PM with the headline "Charlotte 49ers offensive lineman Nate Davis catching eye of NFL scouts."