Like many players around the country, Keona Davis' college football journey has not been straight or easy to navigate. There have been challenges and decisions the Nebraska defensive lineman has had to face head-on at an early age.
At one point in June 2023, Davis, a former four-star recruit out of Tucson (Ariz.) Salpointe Catholic, was verbally pledged to Jedd Fisch's in-state Arizona program. Four months later, he decommitted and verbally pledged to Kalen DeBoer's Washington. That commitment stuck, and Davis even signed with Washington during the early signing period that December.
But Nick Saban's retirement set off a chain reaction of coach movement across college football. Right in the middle of it was DeBoer taking the Alabama job, which sparked Davis to request a release from his letter of intent with Washington, which was granted.
Thanks to the recruiting work and relationship building from then Nebraska defensive coordinator Tony White and defensive line coach Terrance Knighton, the Huskers beat out UCLA and Michigan State for Davis, even after it looked like the Bruins were going to land the talented line-of-scrimmage player.
After a promising true freshman season last fall where Davis found a rotational role while playing in 12 games and making 10 tackles, White and Knighton left for Florida State.
Those moves put Davis in a tough spot, one that left him under a cloud of uncertainty. Davis announced he was entering the transfer portal on Dec. 9.
"To be honest, I felt kind of scared, confused," Davis said during a recent press conference, his first as a Nebraska football player. "Because with them leaving, I didn't know how the defense was going to be ran, I didn't know where I was going to be. So, my mind was very frantic."
To Nebraska and Matt Rhule's credit, the program quickly convinced Davis to stay.
Davis talked with newly-elevated DC John Butler about what his role could be in the defense. Davis also connected with Knighton's replacement, Terry Bradden, who spent the past nine seasons in the Kansas City Chiefs organization, the last four of which as assistant defensive line coach, where he worked with players Davis hopes to play like one day, like Chris Jones.
Davis announced he was sticking with the Huskers two days after his name appeared in the transfer portal.
"Talked to coach Rhule, Nebraska kept communicating with me, talking with family, got my headspace all together, and I ended up staying back here," Davis said.
Davis' face lit up with a big smile when talking about Bradden, who he called "a big ball of energy."
Bradden's loud positivity and upbeat mood is proving to be infectious.
"If you come in feeling down, you just feed off of his energy and it just brings you up back up," Davis said.
Davis is a key piece to a defensive line room that loses anchors Ty Robinson, Nash Hutmacher and Jimari Butler. Last fall that trio combined to play 1,409 snaps and record 83 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks. Also gone is James Williams, a pass-rush specialist who had 5.5 TFLs and 5.0 sacks in 2024.
Those will be big shoes to fill, but Davis understands there's no use thinking about what the room doesn't have. Instead, he's looking up to and following the older players who do return and are expected to be core players, like Riley Van Poppel, Cam Lenhardt and Elijah Jeudy.
"They've made it a comfortable space," Davis said.
Van Poppel, who looks and sounds like the leader of the room, has stood out with how much he helps Davis.
"He's been a big help since I first came here," Davis said of Van Poppel. "He's been helping me with the plays, studying. And when we've been out on the field, he helps my technique. He's been a great help."
As Davis enters his second season of college football, he has a new teammate he's been developing alongside closely this spring — Williams Nwaneri.
Like Davis, Nwaneri has impressive size — he's currently listed at 6-7, 255 pounds on the un-updated online roster — and is full of potential.
Nwaneri was a five-star prospect who was ranked No. 8 overall in the 2024 class coming out of Lee's Summit (Mo.) North. After one season at Missouri, where he redshirted while playing in four games, Nwaneri transferred to Nebraska, where his old high school head coach, Jamar Mozee, is a senior assistant.
"We've been helping each other out with certain things of our game," Davis said. "Some things I struggle with, he'll help me out. And some things he struggles with, I'll help him out. So we've just been feeding off each other."
With the larger role he'll be stepping into, the 6-foot-5 Davis has worked to strengthen his body so it's better suited for the Big Ten trenches. When he came to Lincoln last summer, he weighed in at 245 pounds. He was heavier than that during the season, but thanks to the help of strength coach Corey Campbell and nutritionist Kristin Coggin, Davis is playing this spring at 270 pounds.
The added size, combined with his one season of experience plus his first spring ball, should give Davis a runway to take the next step as a sophomore and make more plays like the rep below, from the Rutgers game, where he sets a hard edge on a Rutgers run play by displacing the 6-8, 344-pound left tackle Hollin Pierce (#72) in the backfield, forcing running back Kyle Monangai (#5) inside into the teeth of the defense.
While it appears there was miscommunication with Rutgers' offensive line at the snap, Davis still flashed his strength and ability to be violent on contact and finish as a run defender:
One of Davis' traits that got him on the field as a first-year player was his motor. For a large and still-growing athlete, he showed a willingness to play until the echo of the whistle and not give up, even when it initially looks like he's out of the play:
Now a year older and wiser, Davis wants to enter his sophomore campaign playing like it.
"I learned that it's a lot faster than high school football," Davis said of his true freshman season. "It was like getting my feet wet, getting experience. Now I have more confidence, I'm more comfortable playing."
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