Davis finding his role in the West Virginia TE room
Treylan Davis has matured over his time with the West Virginia football program.
When Davis first arrived in Morgantown in the 2021 recruiting class he was raw and just learning how to play the tight end position. While he had the physicality, Davis lacked in other departments in order to have a sizeable role on the field.
“Learning the actual game of football. I’ve always played physical, always played kind of rough but I’ve been able to fine-tune that over the last four years and changed my body,” he said.
During that time Davis has increased his speed, agility and endurance while working with strength and conditioning coach Mike Joseph. And as part of that process, Davis has learned to embrace his role with the football program in any way that’s asked of him.
“If Coach Brown sends me to block or Coach Stewart sends me to block, I’ll go block,” he said. “If I need to go catch a flat route I will, whatever I need to do to help.”
Davis is entering his fourth season with the program and it has flown by as he has gone from a young tight end that was still learning how to approach the college game to a seasoned veteran on the field and in the film room.
“They take you in and you come out a completely different human,” he said.
He credits the role that veterans helped play for him at the time such as Mike O’Laughlin and Brian Polendey in teaching him how to practice and go about his business on a daily basis. He recalls as a freshman he received his welcome to college football moment against Dante Stills by being thrown into the mix and learning on the job.
Now, the Ohio native has embraced that same role with the young options on the roster by both leading by example when they are given chances in practice and talking them through any issues.
“Anything they need they know they can come up and talk to me,” he said.
Because of his experience, Davis is more comfortable with doing whatever is asked of him whether that is with the ball or without it. That’s part of his transformation and simply repeatedly doing things to the point that he is comfortable with whatever is asked of him.
“I just want to be a good football player as a whole,” he said.
Davis came into the program not as comfortable doing certain things but now can flip back and forth between h-back and y-tight end. That versatility is what the Mountaineers want at the position and is a testament to the improvement that he has made over his career.
But it didn’t come easy as Davis had to embrace what he was good at and improve in the areas where he needed to make leaps. For Davis, that meant becoming a better pass catcher and he has been able to learn from Kole Taylor in that department in areas such as his steps, movement and more.
“When I think of tight ends I think a little bit of everything. Run, block, catch, pass pro so if you can get really good at what you’re already good at and try to improve at what you’re bad at you can become as versatile as you can,” Davis said.
The redshirt junior only had a pair of catches for two yards in 2023 but is comfortable in the role or any other that he is asked to do. The tight end position continues to evolve, but Davis believes he is equipped to handle exactly what is being asked of him.
“It is length and athleticism to make those blocks on long guys on the edges and still be compact enough to lead up inside on linebackers whether it’s a counter play,” he said. “It’s the best of both worlds and you can still make more plays outside the box.”
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