Vontae Davis wants to be known as more than just Vernon Davis’ little brother.

And understandably so. After all, Vernon’s most noteworthy action of the 2008 NFL season was when the San Francisco 49ers tight end was banished to the locker room in the middle of a game by Head Coach Mike Singletary for demonstrating less than team-oriented behavior.

But when it comes to some comparisons, he’ll gladly take them. Like when his physical skills are compared to Vernon’s eye-popping athleticism and top-flight talent. Vontae says he owes a lot to Vernon, that his big brother helped him out in developing into the football player he has become – a football player poised to become a first-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.

Davis, an early-entry prospect out of the University of Illinois, is considered one of the top cornerbacks in the draft. The 6-0, 200-pounder possesses incredible athleticism, capable of both running with the league’s fastest receivers and coming up to the line of scrimmage both in run support and on corner blitzes. In three years with the Illini, Davis earned the reputation of one of the nation’s hardest-hitting defensive backs.

Davis did not have the type of year he had hoped to in 2008, but much of that can be attributed to the across-the-board struggles that the Fighting Illini defense suffered from last season. Many teams chose to completely avoid throwing Davis’ way for fear of his playmaking ability, and he finished the season with a statline of 78 tackles, 3 forced fumbles and 2 interceptions. He had a career-high 4 picks in 2007, the same season in which he recorded 13 tackles in a Rose Bowl loss to the University of Southern California.

He also played the role of recruiter during his time in Illinois. He convinced his Dunbar High School (Washington, D.C.) teammate Arrelious Benn, a dynamic playmaking wide receiver – and potential future NFL draft prospect – to join him in Champaign.

Vontae’s own reason for choosing Illinois came in part because he didn’t want to follow in Vernon’s footsteps by attending the nearby University of Maryland. He wanted to be known for his own accomplishments, not his brother’s.

There is a good chance Vontae is feeling the same thing now. Supposedly, NFL teams have reservations about drafting him because of character questions, meaning that they don’t want to invest in a player as emotionally volatile as his big brother Vernon. Coaches can’t afford undisciplined players at the cornerback position, and Vontae’s own benching by Illinois coach Ron Zook in 2008 has raised questions about his coachability. Recent rumors that Vontae tested positive for marijuana at the scouting combine are not doing anything to ease teams’ concerns, either.

However, the positive comparisons to Vernon will likely have the biggest effect on Vontae’s draft status – after all, talent is king in today’s NFL. And if Vontae can develop into the shutdown cornerback he’s capable of becoming, then it might be Vernon Davis who will have something to prove: that he’s more than just Vontae Davis’ big brother.

Latest on Davis:

ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. says Davis will go no. 25 to the Miami Dolphins, while colleague Todd McShay says he will be taken by the Baltimore Ravens with the no. 26 pick

Approximately 20 teams held interviews with Davis at the scouting combine

A comparison of Davis to Ohio State cornerback prospect Malcolm Jenkins

Vontae Says:

On comparing himself to the Oakland Raiders’ cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha:

“In the long run, when it all gets said and done, I’ll be in Nnamdi’s shoes.”

On his older brother Vernon Davis:

“He’s my older brother so he’d always think he could bully me and do all this. But I respect that because I look up to him. He pushed me a lot through high school. He did things that made me be a better player. He woke me up at 5 o’clock in the morning to go throw the ball, and it helped.”

On potentially being selected by the Miami Dolphins:

“I like the coaching staff and who could ask for a better place to play than Miami.”

Davis on the Web:

Wikipedia page

Stats and info

Illinois profile

Complete statistics and highlights from his college career

ESPN profile

Stats and info

Scouting report

Includes combine numbers, strengths and weaknesses

Washington Post feature

Vontae dishes on his ability, relationship with big brother Vernon

YouTube clip of Vontae Davis’ 2008 highlights

Jenkins, mentioned as a possible selection of the Browns at No. 5, ran unofficial times of between 4.53 and 4.58 at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium. He also dropped some passes in the ball drills, prompting Deion Sanders of the NFL Network to proclaim that Jenkins and a couple of the other DBs were “killing themselves.”

“His value will be affected by his time, like it or not,” said Mayock. “But there’s a lot of good tape on him and a lot of Cover 2 teams are going to love him at corner.”
Or perhaps at another position.

“Some people think day one he’s a Pro Bowl free safety,” said Mayock. “He’s got the size and the strength and the physicality to play the position.”

Most of the analysts were more concerned about Jenkins’ shaky performance in the ball drills.
“He kind of followed up [the 40 time] with an average at best — and probably not even average — performance for his skill-set,” said Mayock.

I watched the combine yesterday on the NFL Network and Jenkins’ performance was as bad as the article suggests. He’s a good player and he had a tremendous collegiate career at Ohio State. The combine doesn’t mean everything, but it’s hard to shake off a bad 40-time when you’re a corner – especially when you’re projected to go in the top 10. Most safeties run n the mid 4.5’s, so this isn’t good for Jenkins’ draft stock.

What’s interesting about Jenkins being labeled a Cover 2 corner by Mayock is that some say that’s a knock. But the fact of the matter is that most defenses run a variety of coverages (Cover 2, man to man, Cover 4, etc.) and outside of Denver’s Champ Baliey and Oakland’s Nnamdi Asomugha, there aren’t any true cover corners left in the NFL anymore. So Jenkins being labeled as a Cover 2 corner isn’t a bad thing and chances are he’ll still be a top 15 pick.

Illinois’ Vontae Davis ran a 4.49 at the combine and is a physical marvel. The knock on him is that he freelances too much in coverage, but he might have done enough at the combine to leapfrog Jenkins as the top corner selected in April.