Former Magee Stand Out, Bo Davis, named Defensive Line Coach by FootballScoop.com

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Bo Davis, defensive line coach at the University of Alabama, has been named the 2015 FootballScoop Defensive Coach of the year presented by ProGrass. Upon graduation from Magee High School, Davis attended Co-Lin @ Wesson and then on to LSU….from there, he almost never left Nick Saban. Dale Berry of Magee was one of Bo’s high school coaches. (I’m working on an interview with Dale!)

To say Alabama had an outstanding defensive line this season is to state the obvious. But to say Alabama’s 2015 front stood head and shoulders above even other Crimson Tide defensive fronts is to fully encapsulate what Davis’ unit accomplished this fall.
In fact, one can make an argument Alabama’s defensive line was not only the best of its kind in college football — but the best unit, period.
For starters, the Tide were their usual unforgiving selves when facing the run. Alabama allowed 991 yards on 430 carries (2.30 per carry) with six touchdowns — all the fewest in the nation. The Tide are the only team in the eight-year FootballScoop awards program to allow less than 1,000 rushing yards over 14 games, and their 2.30 average is the third-fewest since 2008.
Davis’s charges played their best when the competition was the stiffest: Wisconsin, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Tennessee, LSU, Mississippi State, Auburn, Florida and Michigan State rushed a combined 294 times for 486 yards (1.65 per carry) with three touchdowns. Only Georgia’s 193 yards on 5.08 per carry resembled anything close to success against Alabama — in a game the Tide won 38-10.
In addition to stonewalling most rushing plays (Alabama allowed 31 carries of 10-plus yards, second-fewest in FBS, and six rushes of 20 or more, the fewest in the country), the Tide also produced 101 tackles for loss, 10th-most in college football.
But it was in rushing the passer where Alabama’s defensive line truly jumped to historic levels. Alabama led the country with 50 sacks and 3.57 sacks per game. Consider for a moment that Alabama’s standout 2011 defense, for which all modern defenses are judged against, recorded 30 sacks.
All told, Alabama’s ferocious front laid the groundwork for a defense that ranked second nationally in total defense (256.8 yards per game), second in yards per play allowed (4.09), fourth in pass efficiency defense (99.48), third in opponent completion percentage (49.1) and first in scoring defense (13.4).
The FootballScoop Coaches of the Year awards presented by ProGrass are the only set of awards that recognize the most outstanding position coaches in college football. The finalists (Ben Albert [Boston College], Dan Brooks and Marion Hobby [Clemson], Larry Johnson [Penn State], Sean Spencer [Ohio State] and Davis) were selected based off of nominations by coaches, athletic directors, and athletic department personnel. The prior winners selected this year’s winner.
Davis will be recognized at an event at the AFCA Convention next week. The 13-1 Tide will meet Clemson for the national championship on Monday night. (FootballScoop.com)
Bo Davis returned to Alabama in 2014 for his second stint as the Crimson Tide’s defensive line coach under Nick Saban. He spent four seasons with the Crimson Tide from 2007-10 before coaching the defensive line at Texas for three seasons (2011-13). It is Davis’ sixth overall year on Saban’s staff at Alabama after originally joining the Alabama staff in 2007.
Davis did a masterful job in 2014 as the Crimson Tide was forced to replace both starting defensive ends. Sophomore Jonathan Allen secured one of the jobs at end and turned in a first team All-SEC season while A’Shawn Robinson and Jarran Reed both started 12 games on the defensive line. Robinson was a second-team All-SEC selection while Reed earned honorable mention honors. Reed’s 55 tackles were the most by an Alabama defensive lineman since Wallace Gilberry in 2007. Brandon Ivory anchored the nose tackle position in the Tide’s base 3-4 defense, while Dalvin Tomlinson and D.J. Pettway gave the Crimson Tide tremendous depth and play-making ability in the front.
Led by the defensive front, Alabama’s 2014 defense ranked fourth nationally against the rush, surrendering just 102.4 yards per game. The Tide lead the nation allowing just five rushing touchdowns on the season, while recording 32 sacks, which was already 10 more than 2013.
During his three years on Mack Brown’s staff at Texas, Davis’ defensive front was the backbone of the Longhorns’ defense. The 2013 unit was led by senior Chris Whaley and Malcom Brown. Brown finished third on the team with 12.0 TFL while Whaley scored two touchdowns. In 2012, Davis rotated five players at his defensive tackle positions who accounted for 31 tackles for loss. The 2011 Texas defensive line helped the Longhorns rank sixth nationally in rush defense, allowing just 96.23 yards per game. The defensive tackles group was led by first team All-Big 12 selection Kheeston Randall who was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the 2012 NFL Draft.
The final season of Davis’ first stint in Tuscaloosa in 2010 saw the Crimson Tide defensive line rank 10th nationally in rushing yards allowed (110.2 ypg) while Alabama ranked fifth nationally in total defense (286.4 ypg) and third in scoring defense (12.5 ppg). Marcell Dareus anchored the line with 33 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. He was the third overall selection in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills.
Davis’ 2009 defensive line was again the key in setting the tone for an Alabama defense that ranked second nationally and led the SEC in four major categories – rush defense (78.1 ypg), pass efficiency defense (87.7), total defense (244.1) and scoring defense (11.7 ppg). Senior nose guard Terrence Cody earned consensus All-America honors for the second straight season and was a finalist for the Lombardi, Nagurski and Bednarik Awards. Seniors Lorenzo Washington and Brandon Deaderick anchored the defensive end positions while Dareus emerged as a pass-rusher as a sophomore and led the team with 6.5 sacks. Dareus had a breakout game against Texas in the National Championship as he earned defensive MVP honors.
The Alabama defensive line saw great improvement in 2008, which helped the Crimson Tide develop into one of the top defensive units overall nationally. Davis added Cody to the starting lineup at nose guard and the junior was named an All-American in his first season. Alabama ranked second nationally in terms of rush defense, allowing just 74.1 yards per game on the ground. UA also ranked among the top seven in the country in total defense (263.5 ypg) and scoring defense (14.3 ppg).
Under Davis’ watch in 2007, senior defensive end Wallace Gilberry put together one of the finest seasons in Alabama history. Gilberry earned first team All-SEC status, leading the league in tackles for loss (27) and finishing second in sacks (10).
Davis spent the 2006 season as an assistant defensive line coach and assistant strength and conditioning coach with the Miami Dolphins under Saban.
He has a deep history in Southeastern Conference football. Prior to his stint with the Dolphins, Davis spent four years (2002-05) as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at LSU under Saban and current Tigers’ head coach Les Miles.
A former All-SEC defensive lineman for LSU in the early 1990s, Davis joined the LSU strength and conditioning staff as assistant coordinator in June of 2002. He joined the LSU staff after a stint at North Shore High School in Galena Park, Texas, where he served as an assistant football coach from 1997-2002.
Davis played football at LSU from 1990 to 1992, earning second team All-SEC honors as a nose guard in 1992. He finished his LSU career with 90 tackles, one sack and one fumble recovery. As a senior in 1992, Davis started all 11 games at nose guard, recording 66 tackles, including four tackles for loss.
A native of Magee, Miss., Davis graduated from LSU in 1993 and he then served as a graduate assistant with the LSU strength and conditioning program from 1995-1997. Davis and his wife, Omeika, have two sons Bo and Jackson and a daughter Juliana.