ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

TEMPE, Ariz. -- When college recruiters first saw Dexter Davis in 2004, they didn't think much of him. And when Pac-10 offensive tackles first saw him in 2006, they didn't either.

Davis didn't pass the initial sight test from either party.

Those tackles, in fact, might have observed to Davis that he didn't look like much.

"I got a couple those my freshman year. And some my sophomore year," he said. "I think that's gone away a little bit now. I've earned a little bit of respect."

You think? 27.5 sacks over three seasons tend to make mouthy tackles grow respectful. Modest even. Desperately ingratiating in some cases.

Arizona State starts spring practices Tuesday, and Davis heads into his senior year a solid 6-foot-2, 252 pounds. He's got a shot to be selected on the first day of the 2010 NFL draft.

So give UTEP and ASU credit for seeing something inside the Phoenix product, because those are the only two teams that offered him a football scholarship.

"I don't know if it was my size or my speed," he said. "I don't know what it was. I'd gone to some of the camps and stuff and I didn't test real well. I think I did pretty well in some of the drills."

What sight tests and stop watches couldn't measure was Davis' sense of leverage. He was a two-time Arizona state wrestling champion at 215 pounds for Thunderbird High School.

If you watch him go one-on-one with a much bigger lineman, you might notice that the lineman often seems off-balance and uncomfortable as the smaller Davis controls the confrontation.

Davis knows how to use his hips and his hands. He wins the leverage battle, and then he's on the quarterback.

But opposing offenses wised up. Davis, a three-year starter, rarely was left to one guy. Georgia designed its game plan around stopping Davis, and after the Bulldogs rolled in Tempe, coach Mark Richt quickly noted that success in post-game interviews.

Second-team All-Pac-10 as a sophomore, Davis ended up only as an honorable mention last year, despite 11 sacks and 15 tackles for a loss, both totals leading the Sun Devils for the third consecutive year.

Davis didn't slip so much as the Sun Devils did. They started the season nationally ranked then flopped and finished 5-7, at one point losing six consecutive games.

"That's a huge motivation for the team and me personally," Davis said. "That was embarrassing --- six straight losses. We're a better team than that and we want to prove that to everybody."

If Davis has a big year, he could become the Sun Devils all-time leader in sacks. He presently ranks fourth and needs 16.5 to tie Terrell Suggs' 44.

It's a longshot, but perhaps not as much as it seems. The Sun Devils defense as a whole has a chance to be pretty salty next fall -- coach Dennis Erickson has quietly recruiting some nice talent -- and Davis will likely get some help from the presence of tackle Lawrence Guy, a freshman All-American in 2008.

Guy could force a "pick-your-poison" quandary for opposing offenses.

"They're going to have to pay attention to Lawrence because he's going to be a force to be reckoned with," Davis said. "Across our front four, we're going to have a talented D-line." 

Big numbers could raise some NFL eyebrows. Davis rates either a rush linebacker in the 3-4 or a strongside linebacker in the 4-3. His lack of ideal size and mediocre speed with give some pause, but his production is hard to ignore.

Recall Suggs didn't exactly blow folks away with his 40 time and he seems to be doing OK.

Davis claims he's not looking ahead, though. The notion of looking ahead reminds many in the program of the upset loss to UNLV last season before Georgia came to town.

Said Davis, "I've got to take care of business here first."