Tyler TD Davis making his mark with CFL’s BC Lions
Former Kiel Baltic Hurricane and Munich Cowboy Tyler TD Davis is adjusting to life with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League. BC Lions Digital Content Coordinator Matt Baker spoke with Davis as he battled with other new players at the Lions minicamp.
He has ventured overseas and agreed to play a position he only tried once in high school on opening day of mini-camp. That tells you all you need to know about how passionate Tyler Davis is about football.
As the three-day event came to a close in Surrey, B.C. outside of Vancouver, the versatile wide receiver felt confident about his first taste of CFL action.
The product of Missouri Valley now has his sights set on main camp and perhaps turning a few more heads in Kamloops next month.
“Going from a defensive player to receiver to running back, I thought it would be a lot more difficult to grasp the concept, “ said Davis on Friday.
“Offensive play books are a lot more detailed but I picked it up pretty fast. Coaches liked that they saw so that was pretty big for me.”
His versatility came into affect on opening day when running back Amir Carlisle was dealing with a concussion and they needed someone to share reps with Josh Harris.
But let’s talk more about that versatility and how Davis ended up here.
After going unselected in the 2014 NFL Draft and a brief tryout with the Miami Dolphins, he managed to land as a free agent with the Cowboys. That would be the Munich Cowboys of the German Football League.
It was there where he discovered his true calling on the other side of the ball.
“We had a receiver go down and I ended up playing both sides of the ball for the remainder of that, “recalled Davis. “My offensive co-ordinator then brought me to a new team, the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes, and to save money he kept me on both sides to he didn’t have to get another import.”
2015 brought a European League Championship for the Hurricanes and MVP honours for Davis after he tallied 94 receptions for 1,733 yards and a whopping 24 touchdowns.
For those scoring at home, he also chipped in with six interceptions as a defensive back
Along with earning some hardware and big time recognition, Davis learned a thing or two about life in the process.
“I had a culture shock at first and wasn’t really used to it but most of the people there spoke English. I would like to go back one day but right now I am trying to get used to Canada.”
Davis has lots of studying to do between now and the start of rookie camp. A quick glance at the roster would indicate the club is stacked at receiver, especially with non-imports, but these types of stories are always intriguing to follow once the competition begins for real.
“I like to compete. Everybody out here is trying to get a job and going 110 percent. It was a lot of fun.”
Reposted by permission from the BC Lions. Read the original article from BCLions.com.
