Davis-Clark makes move to safety in absence of Jenrette

During MSU’s annual spring football game last April, one of the coaches told senior cornerback Kendell Davis-Clark to go into the game as free safety.

He did, but for one snap and one snap only.

“I didn’t know what I was doing,” Davis-Clark said. “It was crazy. (The coach) just told me to get in there.”

It turns out the experience in the spring game was a good one for Davis-Clark, who has switched from cornerback to free safety after junior Roderick Jenrette was asked by the team to take care of ‘undisclosed matters’ on Aug. 14.

Davis-Clark said that one-snap performance in the spring game is now a distant memory. With more than 20 practices under his belt at the new position, Davis-Clark said he knows what he’s doing now, and his teammates agree.

“He’s been doing great,” sophomore cornerback Chris L. Rucker said of Davis-Clark. “The way he’s been playing, I would think he’s been there the whole time I’ve been here. Some days I’m like, ‘Dang! He did this that quick?’ He’s really talented.”

Davis-Clark’s switch from cornerback to free safety will allow Rucker to slide into the other starting cornerback position opposite of junior Ross Weaver. With Davis-Clark and senior strong safety Otis Wiley slated to start deep, the cornerback position loses its most experienced starter.

Behind Weaver and Rucker on the depth chart are juniors Ashton Henderson, who started four games in 2007, and Jeremy Ware, who saw action in just one game last season.

Despite the loss of Davis-Clark, who has appeared in every game the past two seasons, Weaver said he still views the cornerback position as one of the team’s strengths.

“I feel confident enough in our corners and we have a lot of great corners,” Weaver said. “Of course, if (Davis-Clark) did come back to play corner it would only make the cornerback position stronger, but by him leaving other people can step up.”

For now, free safety is Davis-Clark’s position — although he said he still views himself as a cornerback.

As for Jenrette’s future status or play in the season’s first game, Davis-Clark said he’s just focusing on enjoying his new position.

“It’s pretty fun, you just have to come up on the ball a lot,” Davis-Clark said. “You don’t have to worry about covering a wide receiver; at corner you guard somebody man on man … but at safety you either have to guard a tight end or you’re up looking for the run.”

Published on Thursday, August 28, 2008