AUBURN, Ala. — Marlon Davidson’s sophomore season at Auburn looked a lot like a good one. The defensive end improved his numbers in tackles, tackles for loss and sacks. He started regularly for a defense that ranked eighth nationally in yards allowed per play and 12th in points per game.
But his position coach knows Davidson has a different view of 2017.
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“I don’t think he could tell you he’s pleased with the year that he had last year,” defensive line coach Rodney Garner said.
While fellow defensive linemen Jeff Holland and Derrick Brown saw huge spikes in their production last season, Davidson wanted more than the smaller gains he saw. After all, the hype surrounding him was high after he became the first true freshman to start on the defensive line for Auburn in the last 30 years.
Davidson was an instant star in 2016, when he helped the Tigers transform into one of the best defenses in the SEC with a motor that seemed limitless and the confidence to match it.
“He loves football,” Garner said. “He really is a throwback when it comes to that part. He’s a kid that really loves football. He’s such a competitor that he thinks Marlon’s the best player against any team. He thinks he’s the best player in America. Which, that’s good. That’s just how he’s wired.”
So for Davidson, the sophomore “slump” — if one could truly call it that — can be blamed solely on injuries.
Davidson first suffered a UCL sprain in his left elbow during spring practice in 2017. He then went down with a non-contact knee injury early in fall camp last August. He wasn’t able to practice again until right before the Tigers’ season opener against Georgia Southern. Then, early in the season, Davidson reinjured that same elbow.
“So he ends up being a one-armed, one-legged guy,” Garner said. “And that’s hard to be successful with in this league.”
Davidson told reporters after the 2017 season he was frustrated at the health struggles he had throughout the season. Teammates could feel it, too.
“I hated that for Marlon last year,” defensive tackle Dontavius Russell said. “I mean, I feel like he played still at a high level, but it was a thing where you know there were plays that he would’ve made earlier in the season — towards the end, he was (back) to his old self — but it was something at the beginning of the season where you know he would’ve been there making those plays.”
Garner estimates Davidson played at 75 percent last season. This season, he says while knocking on wood, Garner sees his starting defensive end back at 100 percent.
Head coach Gus Malzahn also noticed that during what has been a healthy fall for the Tigers.
“In fall camp, he did have an injury, and I think it kinda nagged him the whole year,” Malzahn said. “I think he’s about as healthy as he’s been in a long time. I think that’s a really good thing because he’s an impact player. He can impact a game by himself.”
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Davidson, who surprisingly hasn’t been made available to the media for interviews since the start of fall camp, gave himself a clean bill of health in the spring.
“I think I’ve felt like freshman year coming in,” Davidson said. “My body feels good. I’m doing everything now, no more injuries. It’s a blessing.”
That could be bad news for SEC offensive lines in 2018.
A healthier Davidson should be a force for an Auburn defensive front that returns two more starters in Brown and Russell. On the other side of the line, Davidson could benefit from playing opposite a rotation of Nick Coe, Big Kat Bryant and T.D. Moultry — three edge rushers who impressed in their first seasons last fall.
“I think he’s hungry. I think he knows that we have an opportunity to be a good defensive front, and a lot of that is going to come from his leadership and Russell’s leadership and Brown’s leadership,” Garner said. “Those are the three blocks that we’re building this thing around.”
And for Davidson, being a leader should come easier in 2018 than it did in 2017. Not only is he an upperclassman now, he also actually went through the rigors of the preseason with his teammates.
“It’s hard to lead when you aren’t out there, so I would think it affected even that area of his game last year — trying to be the leader he wants to be, when he’s sitting here,” Garner said. “Guys are like, ‘You ain’t even out here. We don’t want to hear that. It’s 110 degrees out here. You’re over there in the tub. I’m out here going through it.’ So I think that part, him staying healthy, it’s going to be really important.”
With the Tigers looking to replace Holland’s 9.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss this season, Davidson will have a lot of pressure on him.
But for the first time in his career, he’ll be armed with both solid experience and solid health. And that has people in the program excited about Davidson as a junior.
“To be able to see him for a full season this year is just exciting to think about,” Russell said.