But based on what Davis is doing for the Wildcats on the football field these days, perhaps “Double Duty” is the best moniker for him.
For the first 15 games of his varsity career, Davis made his mark as an aggressive, hard-hitting linebacker. He was a first-team All-District 13-5A selection last year after making 95 tackles to help 7-4 Temple capture its first outright district championship since 1995.
However, Davis’ clearly defined role as a sure-tackling middle linebacker took a hit two weeks ago when the Wildcats played at Killeen Ellison - but not because of anything he didn’t do.
The change in Davis’ identity came because of something new he got to do: Run the ball in Temple’s Wing-T offense.
After Davis received zero carries in the first five games (all losses) this season, Wildcats coach Bryce Monsen decided to insert him into the lineup at fullback - a position the sturdy Davis hadn’t played since his freshman year.
“We thought it was time to get him going,” Monsen said.
The results were immediate, and they were impressive.
Davis’ first carry against Ellison went for 10 yards; his second was an 11-yard touchdown 2½ minutes into the game. His third carry gained 13 yards; his fourth produced a 16-yard score right before halftime to put the Wildcats up 35-14.
“I was just trying to get us some first downs,” Davis said.
By the end of the evening, he had rushed 10 times for 71 of Temple’s 427 ground yards - complementing the 291-yard, four-score game of fellow junior Lache Seastrunk - and the Wildcats had held on for a must-have 49-42 victory.
Davis built on his breakthrough performance a week ago at Harker Heights, racking up 112 yards - he had consecutive rumbles of 42 and 29 yards - and a TD on only eight carries as the resurgent Wildcats ripped the Knights 48-10.
Davis says he’s all for the extra responsibility, noting that Temple (2-5 overall, 2-2 in 12-5A entering Friday’s home game against Bryan) has been in a “need-to-win” situation since it lost district games to College Station A&M Consolidated and Copperas Cove.
“It’s fun playing both ways,” Davis said, estimating that he’s played 25 to 30 snaps per game on offense the last two weeks and hasn’t missed many plays on defense. “It’s more running and more contact, but it’s good to do more to help our team.
“We had one (running back) go out and one get hurt, and we had already talked about it (putting Davis at fullback). It was a had-to situation for us.”
Asked whether he gets more satisfaction out of making a hard tackle, a strong run or a big block, Davis said he prefers “hitting and blocking.”
Of course, his running style - going hard up the middle and taking on any and all would-be tacklers until they can drag him down - gives him plenty of opportunity to deliver more crushing blows.
“He’s a football player,” Monsen said of Davis, nephew of former Temple star and NFL running back Kenneth Davis. “He wants to do as much as he can handle, and he’s excited about the situation. The sky’s the limit for him.
“We train our players (at the varsity level) to play one side of the football,” he added, “but we finally made the decision that we needed Derrick’s leadership and toughness on offense. He’s a Davis, so you know it’s in him.”
The addition of Davis as an effective, punishing weapon in the ground game has helped to diversify Temple’s offense, which already had proven threats in big-play Seastrunk and the Kevin Lock-to-Tevin Reese passing tandem.
“You can’t key on one thing - now you have to be aware or six or seven guys,” said Davis, a key player on Temple’s 7-on-7 team that tied for ninth place at July’s state tournament. “We can attack you from different angles.”
For all of his big runs in the last two games (seven for 10 yards or longer), Davis says his top highlight of this season was when his defense stopped A&M Consol on fourth-and-1 at midfield with 1:17 left, giving the offense a final shot before the Wildcats lost 24-21.
Davis played linebacker and fullback in both of his seasons at Travis Middle School and his freshman year at Temple, and he says he’ll be willing to play either position for whichever college he attends.
For Monsen’s part, he’s not surprised to see the success Davis is experiencing - now on both sides of the ball.
“Derrick is a wonderful young man. He’s a better person than he is a player, and that’s saying a lot,” Monsen said. “He’s very tough-minded, he leads by example, and it means a lot to him."
gwille@temple-telegram.com
