Blue Springs’ Davis twins drafted into the NFL: Khalil to Bucs, Carlos to Steelers
Former Blue Springs High School football star Khalil Davis, who went on to become a standout Big Ten defensive lineman with the Nebraska Cornhuskers, was selected in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Saturday.
But not to be denied, Davis’ twin brother, Carlos Davis, was soon drafted, too, selected in the seventh round by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
What an afternoon for the Davises, and what another fun chapter in what’s been a lifelong, good-natured competition between two hard-working kids from the Kansas City area.
Both Davises were highly recruited out of Blue Springs five years ago, and together they chose Nebraska. Good call for each, as they won eight letters apiece — 16 combined — as college football and track athletes. Not coincidentally, those were same sports in which they’d starred at Blue Springs, and it marked the first time any Nebraska student-athlete had won eight letters in a career in half a century.
Khalil was drafted at No. 194 overall in Saturday’s penultimate round as depth for Tampa Bay’s defensive line rotation. Though he plays on the other side of the ball, he joins a beefed-up Bucs organization that’s been invigorated with the offseason offensive additions of quarterback Tom Brady and, more recently, tight end Rob Gronkowski.
Khalil was a graduate senior who majored in fisheries and wildlife with one year of college eligibility remaining last fall when he started all but one game (he was suspended for one for striking an Ohio State opponent). He finished the 2019 season with a career-high 45 tackles, eight sacks and 12 tackles for loss.
He then ran a remarkable-for-a-big man time of 4.75 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the February NFL Scouting Combine. He measured out at 6-foot-2 and 308 pounds and pressed 32 reps on the bench — the most of any D-lineman in attendance.
Carlos’ senior season as a graduate psychology major at Nebraska was nearly a mirror image of Khalil’s. He started all but one game (his missed contest was due to an injury), totaling 32 tackles and four sacks before turning in similarly impressive Combine stats: a 4.82 in the 40, 27 bench reps, 6-foot-2 and 313 pounds.
Carlos finished his college career with 125 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks. The Steelers selected him 232nd overall.
Though Nebraska football struggled during the twins’ time in Lincoln, enduring a coaching handoff from Mike Riley to Scott Frost, the Davises settled in nicely and leave huge footsteps. Excelling in two sports was nothing new: The siblings went head to head many times while growing up — Carlos beat Khalil for the Missouri state shot-put and discus titles when both were high school seniors, for instance.
But now it’s on to the NFL.
Khalil Davis joins a formidable defensive front in Tampa that includes Vita Vea and another former Big Ten standout in Ndamukong Suh.
Carlos starts his pro career in the NFL’s other conference. SI.com’s Noah Strackbein noted Saturday that Davis and new teammate Isaiah Buggs are currently the only true defensive tackles on the Steelers’ roster.
The Davises lifted the number of former KC-area high schoolers drafted this year to four. Isaiah Simmons from Olathe North and Clemson went No. 8 overall to the Arizona Cardinals Thursday, while Charlie Heck of Rockhurst and then North Carolina went in the fourth round, 126th overall, to the Houston Texans Saturday.
This story was originally published April 25, 2020 at 6:00 PM.