Semoball

Versatility, talent may lead Redhawk 'athlete' to NFL

Southeast Missouri State graduate student defensive back Shabari Davis makes a spectacular catch over Redhawk freshman wide receiver Latrell Bonner in a drill to close the opening day of training camp last August at the Rosengarten Athletic Complex.
Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

It would be easier to tally the ways that former Southeast Missouri State football player Shabari Davis could NOT contribute on the field, as opposed to the unending list of ways that he CAN contribute to a team’s success.

Name the skill and Davis has the physical and mental ability to execute what a coach needs, which is what helped get him noticed by NFL scouts.

Davis recently signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent, and his college coach believes he has a real shot at making an NFL roster.

“He is an athlete,” veteran Redhawk coach Tom Matukewicz said recently.

That about sums up Shabari Davis. At the SEMO Pro Day, he had a vertical jump of 39 inches and a broad jump of 11 feet. Those marks would have been ranked in the top five at the 2022 NFL combine.

He also covered the 40-yard dash in 4.50 seconds.

Davis was a scout team quarterback at Garden City (Kansas) Community College, and while at Groves High School in Georgia, he played both quarterback and defensive back. As a senior in high school, he threw for over 600 yards and eight touchdowns, while rushing for over 500 yards and seven scores.

Defensively, he intercepted five passes that fall, and that versatility and playmaking ability continued at SEMO for five seasons.

“There is just not a lot that he can’t do,” Matukewicz said.

He played defensive back for the Redhawks and ultimately appeared in 52 games. However, saying Davis “played defensive back” isn’t doing the 6-foot, 193-pound athlete justice.

The now-25-year-old Davis not only played on defense for the Redhawks over the past five seasons, but he was also a fixture on special teams.

He returned both punts and kickoffs, and Matukewicz utilized Davis on coverage units, as well.

“He was on coverage units for us,” Matukewicz said. “He can be a gunner and can run down on kickoffs. That is what makes him unusual, is the fact that he can turn around and return kicks or hold up a guy.”

Davis is the only Redhawk player to return an interception, a kickoff, and a punt for a touchdown.

He finished his career having made 98 tackles, three for a loss, picked off eight passes, forced a fumble, and registered 33 pass break-ups.

“He is so explosive,” Matukewicz said. “He has great ball skills. Obviously, he is fast, quick, and athletic. At the end of the day, a lot of the NFL teams depend on (undrafted players) to play special teams. I think he could be a three- or four-team special team starter.

“He just has some really unique skill-sets.”

Davis was a Second Team All-Ohio Valley Conference selection in 2021 as a punt returner and has earned an associate’s degree in science (at Garden City), a bachelor's in general studies (at SEMO), and has almost completed his coursework in earning a master's in higher education (at SEMO).

The Jaguars signed 15 undrafted free agents, in addition to their seven draft picks.

Davis’s time in the NFL begins on Thursday when Jacksonville conducts its rookie mini-camp.

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