He said he thought Davis for Murphy would be a fullback at the next level because of how hard he runs. Totally disagree. Davis is a halfback all the way! Fullbacks barely run the ball. Davis is absolutely a feature back. He does run very hard like a FB but he’s also super fast and elusive, and has excellent vision and acceleration. He’s a threat to take it to the house every play from anywhere on the field. You don’t see many fullbacks back deep on punt returns and kick returns, or playing free safety on defense. He didn’t break loose for any super long TD runs last night because Robbinsville has great overall team speed, but he came close a few times and did rip off a few nice chunk plays.
Kid is also a track star. He finished 4th in the SMC in the 100 meter dash (could have been 3rd but but for a bad first step on the takeoff). Allison of course was first, but Davis wasn’t too far behind….and he just turned 14 in late August so he is a young 9th grader. He will get bigger, stronger, and faster and be a heck of a halfback for the Bulldogs over the next three years. You don’t waste talent like that at fullback.
I agree with you on Davis' skillset, he's a natural halfback and obviously a good athlete, now having said that I'd point out that just because he's a natural halfback doesn't mean he can't and won't play some fullback and wingback on varsity. With Clem already on varsity you're going to have to get Davis touches somewhere and while I'm sure he will get some touches at halfback next year it wouldn't surprise me at all if Watson starts him at fullback (given his strength and physicality) or wingback (given his speed and agility) next season.
I'd dispute that fullbacks barely get touches, that is not entirely accurate in Murphy's offense. When Murphy has had good talent at the fullback position in the last decade or so they've gotten plenty of touches: Kenton Braswell, Chase Roberts, KJ Allen, Ray Rathburn all got a healthy amount of touches at fullback and if John Ledford hadn't torn his ACL which unfortunately changed his career he too was destined for a similar amount of touches and impact at fullback. Davis would be more like Braswell in that he'd be a natural halfback playing fullback, and we all saw when he played that spot what kind of damage a big time athlete can do at fullback in Murphy's offense. To say it would be a waste for Davis to play fullback next year, if he is getting touches I can't agree with that statement personally.
As far as next year I actually think Clem would be a pretty good fit at fullback with his size, north and south running style and straight line speed and I'm of the opinion that Davis is the more natural halfback of the two players, but I'm highly doubtful the coaching staff would go that route. What's more likely to happen is Davis will be moved around between all 3 (half, full and wing) to make sure he is on the field and getting touches. When Braswell was on varsity he had Gaige Cox back there with him and the best way to get both on the field was to have Braswell at fullback. I think you will see something similar with Davis seeing a healthy dose of reps at fullback, wingback or both the next 2 years before he takes over at halfback his senior year, similar to how things went for Devonte Murray.
