With the 232nd pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected defensive lineman Carlos Davis. His brother Khalil was selected in the sixth round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
With the 232nd pick in the #NFLDraft, we select DT Carlos Davis. #SteelersDraft pic.twitter.com/Xd8NDBbhQR
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) April 25, 2020
Davis was a constant during a time of change for Nebraska football. He, along with his twin brother Khalil, committed to Bo Pelini's staff as players in the 2015 recruiting class. When Pelini's staff was fired at the end of the 2014 season, the Davis twins stuck with their commitment to Nebraska under new head coach Mike Riley.
Following a redshirt season, Davis made his Husker debut in 2016, appearing in all 13 games with four starts at defensive tackle. His four tackles for loss, including two sacks, ranked eighth and fourth on the team respectively as Davis was named Nebraska's Most Improved Player.
Bob Diaco was Davis's defensive coordinator for his sophomore season as he posted a career-high 42 tackles while starting all 12 games at defensive end. The following season brought more change as Scott Frost and staff took over with Mike Dawson coaching the defensive line. Davis posted 27 tackles with three tackles for loss and five pass breakups, the most breakups for a defensive lineman in a season since Ndamukong Suh had 10 in 2009. Davis earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors.
Davis again had a new position coach in 2019 as Tony Tuioti took over defensive-line duties. The senior started 11 of 12 games at defensive end, missing the Wisconsin game due to injury. Davis posted a career-high four sacks last season, ranking second on the team.
Khalil was the higher-rated draft prospect, but the Davis twins each offer an enticing blend of athleticism. The pair lettered all four years at Nebraska in football and all four years as throwers on the track team, making them the ninth and 10th eight-time letter winners in school history. Carlos was a two-time All-American in discus and posted one of the fastest 40 times (4.82) ever for a defensive lineman over 300 pounds at the NFL Combine.
Davis was rated as the 20th-best defensive tackle in the draft at WalterFootball.com.
https://twitter.com/BarrySwavey/status/1254169397960282114
Great day for the Davis family!!@_KING_LOS__ is going to be a stud‼️ Time to go to work #GBR☠️🤙🏽 https://t.co/Z6pLyrne1o
— Tony Tuioti (@CoachTuioti92) April 25, 2020
Brandon is the Managing Editor for Hail Varsity and has covered Nebraska athletics for the magazine and web since 2012, Hail Varsity’s first season on the scene. His sports writing has also been featured by Fox Sports, The Guardian and CBS Sports.
