Nebraska defensive tackle Carlos Davis is the only 2020 NFL Draft hopeful who is at the NFL Combine with his twin brother. As I sat next to Davis, we both looked over multiple times at the next table, where his twin brother (Carlos is older by three minutes), sat and tried to stay focused on his own combine interviews.
NFL Combine interview with the Davis twins
The twins share a very close relationship with their mother Tracy, who acted as their academic advisor, and made sure they focused on their academics first.
“She was the one that if we were slipping, they would just call her, which was annoying, but it worked.”
Both twins attended Blue Springs High School in Missouri, where they excelled in track and football. They continued their careers in both sports at Nebraska, competing in discus throwing and playing next to each other on the defensive line. Carlos mentioned that he got the better of his twin at Nebraska in the discus.
“I beat him last year, we were both all-americans our last year, but he was close behind.”
Carlos noted that throwing discus has been able to boost his football skills. In discus, the twins used their hips primarily to launch the disc, and it has helped them stay light on their feet for 300-pounds, and it helped with explosiveness.
In terms of his favorite NFL players to watch, Davis mentioned Jared Allen, Derrick Thomas, Bruce Smith, and Kevin Green. Davis says it is his versatility that separates him from other prospects. He has played for multiple coaches and schemes, including both a 3-4 and 4-3.
“I think 4-3 suits my abilities better, but we had to play in both, so we know how to play both.”
When I asked him about leaving his brother for the first time in their lives (the 2020 NFL Combine and draft will most likely be their last two events together,) Davis was ready to answer.
“We get that question a lot down here. We are ready. We are ready to go do our own things and separate.”
Despite their willingness to split, Carlos recalled one of his favorite memories playing with Khalil.
“It was like a twin telepathy thing. We don’t really have to talk, we can run a play without having to discuss first. We can run a stunt by accident, and it will work. We feed off each other and that definitely helped us out on the field. Our chemistry was great.”
After finishing up with Carlos, I got the chance to sit down with his twin, Khalil, also a 2020 NFL Draft prospect. He commented on how fun it was to get to whisper in his brother’s ear during games in order to motivate him.
“He (Carlos) always knew how to push my buttons and get me going. He would say something in my ear back and make me mad and I would be ready to go.”
When I asked Khalil about Carlos’ bragging rights in the discus competition, Khalil responded by saying that Carlos couldn’t throw it “that much further, maybe by a few inches,” and that both brothers threw 191 and 181 feet, both tremendous lengths. Khalil provided me with a little more of the twins’ social experience at Nebraska.
When asked about the local hangout spots for the defensive line, Davis’ eyes lit up, as he mentioned The Surfside Club. Davis instantly quieted me, telling me not to give away his favorite spot. To the brothers, that place meant everything. Right near the border of Iowa, the old school restaurant was on the river with a bar and a place for live music. The twins and the rest of the Nebraska defensive line frequented the eatery, ordering fried catfish on the bone and fried chicken, with hushpuppies dipped in honey on the side.
“When we found out about it we took as many guys as we could, and the restaurant challenged us to bring as many teammates as we could. i love that place.”
Carlos and Khalil Davis are ready to take the 2020 NFL Combine and draft by storm. While they may be ready and willing to separate, a defensive-line-needy team may be wise to try to keep the twins together. Given their special chemistry, and their overall athletic ability (they both combined for 12 sacks last season), the Davis brothers have demonstrated their ability to grow and adapt.
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