‘You couldn’t ask more’: Hurricanes’ Jaden Davis proving to be a major addition

Although Jaden Davis just joined the Miami Hurricanes this summer, his relationships with some of his current teammates go back years.

Davis, a Fort Lauderdale native and St. Thomas Aquinas High alumnus, spent years playing with and against other South Florida defensive backs who are now his teammates with the Hurricanes.

“Me and Jaden Davis have been playing since we were about six years old,” UM cornerback Daryl Porter Jr., an American Heritage alum, said. “That’s when we first met, playing seven-on-seven. So we go way back.”

Those relationships helped Davis adjust to life at UM, and now the former South Florida star is looking like a shrewd offseason addition for the Hurricanes’ coaching staff. Through three games, Davis is the Hurricanes’ top-graded defensive player with more than 100 snaps.

“He fit right in, and I would say more than fit right in,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “He does do a good job leading, and he hasn’t been overly vocal — maybe because, again, he’s almost a novelty, the newness of just arriving — but you couldn’t ask more from a guy than what we have gotten from Jaden.”

Davis also has ties that go back a long time with Miami defensive back Te’Cory Couch, who played at Chaminade-Madonna in Hollywood. They played at different high schools, but they both played for the South Florida Express seven-on-seven team. Although they had not played together for years, Couch knew the Hurricanes were adding a skilled player.

“We’ve got a ton of memories, a ton of chemistry playing together because he played corner and nickel for South Florida Express, just as well as I did, so we’ve both got chemistry together,” Couch said. “But he’s grown tremendously, man. Just a great leader, very instinctive and just plays very physical.”

Davis has started at cornerback in all three of UM’s games so far this season, and he has rewarded the coaches who put him in that role. He is third on the team with 11 tackles and has a team-leading three pass deflections. Pro Football Focus gives him an 82.4 overall defensive grade and a 79.0 coverage grade. The overall grade is 10th in the nation (and third in the ACC) among cornerbacks with more than 50 snaps this season, and the coverage grade is 32nd nationally (sixth in the ACC).

“He is a great athlete,” Cristobal said, “and he has a natural sense — very instinctive — just a very natural sense for not only the passing game but for formations, motions, understanding splits and what they mean as it relates to certain down-and-distance situations.”

But Davis’ biggest play for the Hurricanes so far was not in pass coverage. With Miami up five points against Texas A&M near the end of the third quarter, Davis came up in run defense when Aggies halfback Amari Daniels took the hand-off. Davis dove to tackle Daniels and put his helmet directly on the ball, forcing it loose. Safety Kamren Kinchens recovered the fumble, and the Hurricanes turned the fumble into a touchdown to go ahead 38-26.

Davis has excelled in run defense and pass rushing when asked to do it this year. He has two quarterback pressures on his four pass-rush attempts, and he has an 85.4 grade in run defense, which ranks eighth in the nation among cornerbacks.

“I’m a smaller guy. All little guys want to be big guys,” Davis said. “All little guys wish they could put their hand in the dirt or come off the edge and rush the passer, and (defensive coordinator Lance) Guidry played safety himself, so he knows how fun that is. The game of football is fun, and being able to blitz and be trained for it, we put in the work throughout the summer.”

With Kinchens still out following his undisclosed injury against Texas A&M, Davis could slide over and play safety in Miami’s next few games. He has primarily played outside corner, but part of his value to the Hurricanes is his ability to play wherever he is needed.

“He’s just a plug-and-play guy,” Guidry said. “You can put him anywhere. You can put him at safety, nickel, corner, so he’s earned his stripes, and the players know that he has. So going forward, he’s a big leader on the defense, especially on the back end. I think he’ll play better and better.”