'He checks every box': Cole Davis is a steady force among Sheridan's linemen

THORNVILLE – Cole Davis was dyed in the wool of the Right Mental Attitude, not that he had much choice.

Sheridan’s two-way senior lineman has been around the school’s football program – and its iconic slogan -- since he was old enough to remember. It is the product of being the son of longtime assistant coach Tyrone Davis, who coached under Hall of Famer Paul Culver Jr. and later Paul Culver III.

His dad left coaching a few years ago after moving into school administration, but he still sheds plenty of wisdom on his son. He just happens to play the same positions that the elder Davis coached throughout his tenure.

He has always been able to count on an honest assessment, even if the message can be on the blunt side.

“It really helped formed me into the person I am now, because baseball, football, basketball, I played them my whole life,” Davis said. “It has really helped me focus on sports. Him yelling at me, it kind of sucks in the moment, but in the long run, it makes me really thankful because he cared so much about me.”

It has transferred to production on the field – and in the classroom. As the Generals prepare for Friday’s Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal matchup with visiting Gallia Academy, Davis has been one of the Muskingum Valley League’s most consistent players on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

He was unstoppable off the edge during a 49-28 win against Morgan in the first round of the playoffs, when he broke up two passes, registered 1 ½ sacks and had another tackle for loss in the first half alone. He was the engine that fueled a key stretch in the first half in which the Generals scored 28 unanswered points after trailing 7-0.

“It was the best game that I have ever played and it came in one half,” Davis said.

Longtime defensive line coach Nick Bendle, like the elder Davis a longtime Sheridan assistant, has been impressed with Cole’s consistency.

“He is always doing the right thing,” Bendle said. “He doesn’t make mistakes. He is just always in the right place.”

In Cole’s case, it might mean keeping contain to the wide side of the field while still applying a pass rush. On the short side, it might mean unleashing a spin move when he has more liberty and less contain responsibilities.

At 6-1, 255, his low center of gravity allows him to get under opposing pass blockers. It also allows him to get under defensive linemen and linebackers in the running game on offense.

The latter has been a critical role this year, with the offense featuring multiple new faces on the line. Culver III said the decision to limit his defensive reps is a philosophical decision that he makes on his own to keep fresh bodies on the line of scrimmage.

Davis has shined when it has mattered. With the defense having allowed at least 20 points the last three games, which came after recording four straight shutouts, they could use another game like Davis produced against the Raiders.

“The last three games we’ve struggled a little, but we have a lot of potential still,” Davis said. “I know we can do great things. Defense is what Sheridan has been about for years. We have to tackle better. That has been something we’ve struggled with at times.”

Davis said it was one of his offseason missions to develop more pass rush moves. He took to YouTube and other websites as a means to study moves of some of the NFL’s top rushers. He also worked with Bendle to add better hand placement to his arsenal.

Specifically, he added a hand swipe to an already fierce “dip and rip” move.

“I knew I needed something because you can’t just bull rush everybody,” Davis said. “Eventually guys are going to be good enough to handle that. I needed to work on ways of getting hands off of me.”

Bendle said Cole falls in line with other top defensive ends the program has produced, such as Adam Boyle.

“One thing that I think we do a good job of at Sheridan is we have expectations of how kids are supposed to play,” Bendle said. “They don’t know any better. I’ve always thought that. If you started telling your kids that things are hard, then they are going to think it’s hard. Cole just accepts that responsibility to get things done. He doesn’t ever think something is too hard for him to do. If he does, he’d never in a million years voice it.”

Culver III called Cole “a poster child of what it means to be a Sheridan General,” with the ability to balance aggression and clean play on the field with a sight on classwork and leadership.

“He loves the game, he loves his team, he doesn’t care about publicity,” Culver III said. “If he never got an accolade he wouldn’t care. He just wants to win, but he wants to do it the right way. He checks every box.”

sblackbu@gannett.com; X: @SamBlackburnTR

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Cole Davis is a steady force among Sheridan's linemen