As New Year’s Eve, and with it the Citrus Bowl, drew near Illinois Head Coach Bret Bielema discussed how he spent his Christmas Eve. He was in Oakland, California, convincing his starting left tackle, J.C. Davis to come play in the bowl game.
It wasn’t until January 4, five days after the Citrus Bowl that the announcement came of Davis having eligibility to return in 2025. After 2024 ended, Davis was seeking an additional year of eligibility, and it came via the NCAA granting a blanket waiver to former junior college transfers.
Davis spent his first year in college (2021) at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, California. He then transferred to New Mexico, where he earned All-Mountain West honorable mention in 2022 and then All-Mountain West first team the next season. He then transferred again, this time to Champaign, where he started all 13 games at left tackle for the Illini last season, earning the team’s newcomer of the year award.
He was also All-Big Ten third team, according to the coaches vote. Bielema’s yuletide recruiting efforts paid off handsomely, as Davis allowed zero pressures in Illinois’ win over #14 South Carolina in the Citrus Bowl. The bowl game victory broke new barriers for the program, as Davis came up huge against a powerful Gamecocks front seven. His performance in Orlando saw him registering the 7th highest pass-blocking grade for any tackle (minimum 40 snaps) during the postseason period.
That’s according to Pro Football Focus, who scored him an 87.6 for the New Year’s bowl. The dominant performance turned in by the 6-5, 320 pound behemoth landed him on the AP All-Bowl Team.
And the emphatic statement he made in closing out 2024 has vaulted his prospects for 2025. With his “additional” and final season, Davis has a chance to be dominant, and with it, get selected in the 2026 NFL Draft.
As a…
Source link : https://draftwire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/draft/2025/08/03/j-c-davis-left-tackle/85495257007/
Author :
Publish date : 2025-08-04 01:01:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
