Get to Know Your Orange Man: #57, OG Dakota Davis

Name: Dakota Davis

Position: Guard

Year: Redshirt junior

Height: 6’5”

Weight: 330

Hometown: Mount Airy, Md.

High School: Glenelg

2019 stats: Started all twelve games with close to 900 snaps last season at right guard. Davis moved into the starting lineup for Evan Adams, who moved to left guard for the departed Aaron Roberts. Overall a solid year that he looks to improve on.

2020 projections: One of the four “penned in” starters at this point, Davis should be an even more impressive contribution to the line with an offseason of knowing who he’ll be working next to, in Matthew Bergeron and Carlos Vetterello. The trio showed a good bit of chemistry toward the end of last year and can hopefully turn that into a strength this season. He’s also trimmed down ten or so pounds from last season which should help mobility and pulling/trapping which wasn’t a strength of this line last year, but a favorite technique of Dino’s to employ in the run game.

How’d he get here?: UConn, Army, FAU, Air Force and others were all looking at Davis before he decided to come to Syracuse.

What’d recruiting sites say?: Three stars.

Money quote: Davis had an interview with the Baltimore Sun before he came north. His partial thoughts on the game of football:

“Yeah, well, this is all downhill-type of football and I’ll throw a body on someone if I have to. It’s fun to pancake people and break other people’s will play after play.”

Twitter feed: @dakotadavis56

Tweets of wonder: While not an avid tweeter, Davis did give some RT love to the Lift for Life program at SU, which includes a great picture of him pulling something very heavy with a very large rope.

What movie would Dino Babers recommend for him?: We’ve gone with movies set in his native Maryland in the past and this year I’ll continue, with the 1990 Harrison Ford thrill Patriot Games. It’s Harrison Ford, it’s based on a Tom Clancy novel, it’s worth a watch.

Interesting nugget o’interest: Glenelg, the town in Maryland that Davis is from, named after and old Scottish estate, is a palindrome. Don’t know why, but I have an irrational love for palindromes.

Let’s get a good look at ya: Can always go back and watch last years Duke game, where he had a PFF POTY performance, but otherwise, here’s some old footage.