Davis Looks to Finish Strong in Final Season at Wake Forest
10/17/2024 10:46:00 AM | Football, Les Johns
“I feel like I came to Wake Forest with a mission and I was able to fulfill that,” - Jasheen Davis
It's no surprise that when Jasheen Davis took a recruiting visit to Wake Forest in May of 2019 that it was his uncle Larry Armour who brought him to campus. Armour had introduced Davis to baseball and football when he was just 6-years old, and had been with him every step of the journey to that point.
"He took me everywhere and was a good support system for me," Davis said. "I really appreciate that because sometimes things are hard, but being able to have somebody that's consistently in your life and really more like a father figure-slash-coach can take you far.
"Sometimes when you're good at sports, people tend to forget about your flaws. He attacked the flaws rather than the positives to make me want to work and push to be the best version of myself in every facet of life."
Armour has been to nearly every Wake Forest game since Davis' freshman season in 2020.
"It's always been like that since I was six," Davis said. "Since I was six, taking me from football practice, to baseball travel ball and stuff. We've basically been all around the world."
The prolific career for the defensive end from Shiloh High School (Snellville, Ga.) comes to a close in 2024 as he looks to deliver another bowl appearance for the Demon Deacons while putting the finishing touches on his degree. He chose Wake Forest a little more than a month after his 2019 visit, with academics along with his relationship with Wake Forest defensive line coach Dave Cohen chief among his reasons.
"I feel like I came to Wake Forest with a mission and I was able to fulfill that," Davis said. "It's always been at the top with Coach Cohen being persistent and wanting to recruit me since my sophomore year of high school. That's the reason why I chose Wake Forest over other schools. It's not just about football. I feel like it's also about education. Being at Wake Forest really has taught me a lot in every facet of life, so I'm grateful."
Davis is fourth in Wake Forest history with 21.5 sacks, just 2.5 sacks behind Duke Ejiofor for third, and is seventh in career tackles for loss at Wake Forest with 42.0 through week seven. According to Cohen, it's the non-stop motor Davis showcases that has led to all this success.
"Jasheen Davis has an incredible burst to the football and his passion to get to the football — he is in an elite category of pursuit to the football in my 36 years," Cohen said. "He's in an elite group of that, and high school is where I first noticed it.
"For a guy that's not overwhelmingly large in today's standards of defensive linemen, he's extremely physical at the point of attack, but his motor is what makes him elite. We've had two guys motors since I've been at Wake Forest that stick out from the rest and it would be he and Kobie Turner where they're like the Energizer Bunnies, those two."
Cohen recognized that effort and passion during the recruiting process and it played out exactly as planned the last three seasons for the Demon Deacons.
"Anytime you have a guy that approaches the game with the love and passion that JD does, it will elevate our practice intensity and our approach to the game," Cohen said. "It's very hard to greatly change someone's effort, motor and passion, but he can certainly raise the energy level in a room or on a field in a group."
Though he arrived with a non-stop motor, he's worked hard in the weight room and the film room to put all the pieces together to build a complete player.
"Just being a student of the game," Davis said about what he's improved during his time at Wake Forest. "Coming to Wake, it exposes you to the student side of the game. It's not just what you do athletically and things like that. I feel like that being in the film room and understanding your opponent and their weaknesses also plays a role in becoming a better football player.
"And I feel like being here at Wake Forest can expose me to basically a nuance of ways to stay ahead of the game without actually physically having to put extra stress on myself."
Combining player tendencies based on what he's seen on film along with what's transpiring during the game helps Davis stuff opposing quarterbacks and running backs in the backfield with regularity.
"It's more of what you feel in the game because film could tell you one thing, but also it gives you tendencies to read — your keys to read," he said. "But at the same time though, I feel like that when you play or gain enough experience, especially in a game, that you start to pick up on things that you might have been blind to before. Film study is one thing, but also being able to apply that to the game and be able to pick up on things while you're playing the game — that's what makes great football players, just really just being a student of the game."
The progress off the field has impressed Cohen as well. Davis has worked hard in the classroom and invested in the community.
"Obviously, at Wake Forest and under Coach Clawson, academics are always going to play a big role and he's attacked that even harder recently as he did when he first got here," Cohen said. "So his GPA has drastically gone up."
Davis is one of many Demon Deacon football players who have invested time with children at Paisley Middle School, and he's helped work football camps on campus.
"Being able to coach them up and give them confidence in order to be the best version of themselves, whether it's as a person or a football player — that's something that's vital to me," Davis said. "Being in the position that I'm, I know a lot of people look up to me, so I try to be an advocate for them being the best version of themselves and believing in themself."
The relationship between Cohen and Davis has only strengthened during their four-plus years together.
"He's been fun to be around," Davis said. "He really cares about his guys and he wants the most out of us. He strives to push us to the limit that we think that we can't go to. I'm just thankful to have a coach like him because at the end of the day, like I said, it is one thing to be a coach, but also be a father figure in a way, teaching us about life and everything. Being able to have a coach like coach Cohen really has made me a better player and a better person."
Two-to-three times a season, Cohen shows his defensive linemen a tape of highlights he calls the "Effort Tape," showcasing plays that wouldn't have been made without maximum effort. Davis shows up on that tape more than any other current or former Wake Forest defensive lineman.
"He loves football," Cohen said. "Every kid tells you that they love football and then other people pop off the screen to show you how important it is for them to get to the football. And you could stand on your head as a coach, but some guys just love it. But there's probably more of Jasheen's clips than anybody on the top 12-15 clips we've ever had."
The highlight of his career at Wake Forest thus far has been playing in the 2021 ACC Championship against Pittsburgh in Charlotte. Davis contributed four tackles and half a sack.
"It was the biggest stage of my life," he said. "And a learning experience, being on that level or playing at that high level. It puts a lot of eyes on you, but that's when I realized that you have to tune out the noise behind you because at the end of the day, the only person that stops you is yourself. It taught me to basically block out the noise because at the end of the day, the game is the game.
"Football is football. People try to make the game more sophisticated than what it is. I feel like being able to play in an environment like that allowed for me to come into my own person. It's a big stage and everything, and sometimes you have to play under the lights in order to become yourself. That was probably one of the highlights of my career to be able to experience a championship setting like that."
In his final season to suiting up and a scant three classes to wrap up to graduate, Davis can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
"I did not come only to play football," he said. "The end goal is to make it pro, but at the same time though, the education at Wake Forest is world class, so taking advantage of those opportunities has been incredible."
While there certainly were some adjustments to college life both on and off the field, Davis adjusted and thrived as a Demon Deacon.
"When you come to college, suddenly people are just as good as you, just as fast as you, just as strong as you," he said. "You have to learn how to adapt to watching film and training hard, because everybody has the same skillset as you. You just work harder and believe in yourself, then you will prevail.
"I quickly recognized how busy and time consuming that this sport is, trying to juggle classes, football and everything else. It teaches you good time management and how to be goal oriented. Being exposed to that opened my eyes a little bit. I'm just grateful to be in this position because it taught me a lot of things and I feel like the sky's the limit."
"He took me everywhere and was a good support system for me," Davis said. "I really appreciate that because sometimes things are hard, but being able to have somebody that's consistently in your life and really more like a father figure-slash-coach can take you far.
"Sometimes when you're good at sports, people tend to forget about your flaws. He attacked the flaws rather than the positives to make me want to work and push to be the best version of myself in every facet of life."
Armour has been to nearly every Wake Forest game since Davis' freshman season in 2020.
"It's always been like that since I was six," Davis said. "Since I was six, taking me from football practice, to baseball travel ball and stuff. We've basically been all around the world."
The prolific career for the defensive end from Shiloh High School (Snellville, Ga.) comes to a close in 2024 as he looks to deliver another bowl appearance for the Demon Deacons while putting the finishing touches on his degree. He chose Wake Forest a little more than a month after his 2019 visit, with academics along with his relationship with Wake Forest defensive line coach Dave Cohen chief among his reasons.
"I feel like I came to Wake Forest with a mission and I was able to fulfill that," Davis said. "It's always been at the top with Coach Cohen being persistent and wanting to recruit me since my sophomore year of high school. That's the reason why I chose Wake Forest over other schools. It's not just about football. I feel like it's also about education. Being at Wake Forest really has taught me a lot in every facet of life, so I'm grateful."
Davis is fourth in Wake Forest history with 21.5 sacks, just 2.5 sacks behind Duke Ejiofor for third, and is seventh in career tackles for loss at Wake Forest with 42.0 through week seven. According to Cohen, it's the non-stop motor Davis showcases that has led to all this success.
"Jasheen Davis has an incredible burst to the football and his passion to get to the football — he is in an elite category of pursuit to the football in my 36 years," Cohen said. "He's in an elite group of that, and high school is where I first noticed it.
"For a guy that's not overwhelmingly large in today's standards of defensive linemen, he's extremely physical at the point of attack, but his motor is what makes him elite. We've had two guys motors since I've been at Wake Forest that stick out from the rest and it would be he and Kobie Turner where they're like the Energizer Bunnies, those two."
Cohen recognized that effort and passion during the recruiting process and it played out exactly as planned the last three seasons for the Demon Deacons.
"Anytime you have a guy that approaches the game with the love and passion that JD does, it will elevate our practice intensity and our approach to the game," Cohen said. "It's very hard to greatly change someone's effort, motor and passion, but he can certainly raise the energy level in a room or on a field in a group."
Though he arrived with a non-stop motor, he's worked hard in the weight room and the film room to put all the pieces together to build a complete player.
"Just being a student of the game," Davis said about what he's improved during his time at Wake Forest. "Coming to Wake, it exposes you to the student side of the game. It's not just what you do athletically and things like that. I feel like that being in the film room and understanding your opponent and their weaknesses also plays a role in becoming a better football player.
"And I feel like being here at Wake Forest can expose me to basically a nuance of ways to stay ahead of the game without actually physically having to put extra stress on myself."
Combining player tendencies based on what he's seen on film along with what's transpiring during the game helps Davis stuff opposing quarterbacks and running backs in the backfield with regularity.
"It's more of what you feel in the game because film could tell you one thing, but also it gives you tendencies to read — your keys to read," he said. "But at the same time though, I feel like that when you play or gain enough experience, especially in a game, that you start to pick up on things that you might have been blind to before. Film study is one thing, but also being able to apply that to the game and be able to pick up on things while you're playing the game — that's what makes great football players, just really just being a student of the game."
The progress off the field has impressed Cohen as well. Davis has worked hard in the classroom and invested in the community.
"Obviously, at Wake Forest and under Coach Clawson, academics are always going to play a big role and he's attacked that even harder recently as he did when he first got here," Cohen said. "So his GPA has drastically gone up."
Davis is one of many Demon Deacon football players who have invested time with children at Paisley Middle School, and he's helped work football camps on campus.
"Being able to coach them up and give them confidence in order to be the best version of themselves, whether it's as a person or a football player — that's something that's vital to me," Davis said. "Being in the position that I'm, I know a lot of people look up to me, so I try to be an advocate for them being the best version of themselves and believing in themself."
The relationship between Cohen and Davis has only strengthened during their four-plus years together.
"He's been fun to be around," Davis said. "He really cares about his guys and he wants the most out of us. He strives to push us to the limit that we think that we can't go to. I'm just thankful to have a coach like him because at the end of the day, like I said, it is one thing to be a coach, but also be a father figure in a way, teaching us about life and everything. Being able to have a coach like coach Cohen really has made me a better player and a better person."
Two-to-three times a season, Cohen shows his defensive linemen a tape of highlights he calls the "Effort Tape," showcasing plays that wouldn't have been made without maximum effort. Davis shows up on that tape more than any other current or former Wake Forest defensive lineman.
"He loves football," Cohen said. "Every kid tells you that they love football and then other people pop off the screen to show you how important it is for them to get to the football. And you could stand on your head as a coach, but some guys just love it. But there's probably more of Jasheen's clips than anybody on the top 12-15 clips we've ever had."
The highlight of his career at Wake Forest thus far has been playing in the 2021 ACC Championship against Pittsburgh in Charlotte. Davis contributed four tackles and half a sack.
"It was the biggest stage of my life," he said. "And a learning experience, being on that level or playing at that high level. It puts a lot of eyes on you, but that's when I realized that you have to tune out the noise behind you because at the end of the day, the only person that stops you is yourself. It taught me to basically block out the noise because at the end of the day, the game is the game.
"Football is football. People try to make the game more sophisticated than what it is. I feel like being able to play in an environment like that allowed for me to come into my own person. It's a big stage and everything, and sometimes you have to play under the lights in order to become yourself. That was probably one of the highlights of my career to be able to experience a championship setting like that."
In his final season to suiting up and a scant three classes to wrap up to graduate, Davis can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
"I did not come only to play football," he said. "The end goal is to make it pro, but at the same time though, the education at Wake Forest is world class, so taking advantage of those opportunities has been incredible."
While there certainly were some adjustments to college life both on and off the field, Davis adjusted and thrived as a Demon Deacon.
"When you come to college, suddenly people are just as good as you, just as fast as you, just as strong as you," he said. "You have to learn how to adapt to watching film and training hard, because everybody has the same skillset as you. You just work harder and believe in yourself, then you will prevail.
"I quickly recognized how busy and time consuming that this sport is, trying to juggle classes, football and everything else. It teaches you good time management and how to be goal oriented. Being exposed to that opened my eyes a little bit. I'm just grateful to be in this position because it taught me a lot of things and I feel like the sky's the limit."
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