Penn State CB Davis to enter the Transfer Portal
Penn State redshirt freshman cornerback Jeffrey Davis Jr. will enter the Transfer Portal, a source told BWI on Monday. The Bristol, Conn., native appeared in just one game in his two seasons on campus in Happy Valley. He’s the second member of Penn State’s Class of 2021 to announce an outgoing transfer this week, joining defensive lineman Rodney McGraw, who announced his intentions on Sunday.
Davis was an early enrollee in January of 2021, but he never got traction as far as breaking into the cornerback or special teams rotation. His only appearance came late in a win over Ohio this season. Davis instead spent his time as a part of the scout team, twice earning the coaching staff’s Developmental Squad Defensive Player of the Week award. This season he earned recognition following the win over Auburn and in 2021 it came on the heels of a win over Indiana.
Davis had to catch up upon arrival at Penn State
The Kingswood-Oxford School graduate missed his senior season in 2020 due to Covid. He told BWI over the summer that he was still playing catchup in his first year on campus as a cornerback.
“Probably the mental aspect of the game,” he said of the biggest jump from high school to college. “Just learning the Xs and Os, learning what the receiver is doing, learning what the rest of the defense is doing in general. And the physical aspect of the game. Coming here, guys are extremely bigger than in high school. Just being physical and being consistent, is probably the biggest thing.
“The film aspect is something that I’ve never really took seriously until college. So just knowing route concepts and stuff like that is something that’s made me further along in the football process. It’s something that’s helped me as a corner in general.”
A three-star prospect according to the On3 Consensus rankings, Davis was the No. 47 cornerback nationally and the No. 4 prospect in Connecticut in the Class of 2021. He’s the second member of the Penn State cornerback room to announce a change of venue for 2023. Last week, Joey Porter Jr., announced that he would be opting out of the Nittany Lions’ bowl game and entering the 2023 NFL Draft.
