PEMBROKE — It wasn’t long after Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly became Mr. Irrelevant with the last pick in the draft that former The University of North Carolina at Pembroke kicker Matt Davis’ phone went off with news that his NFL dream was still alive.
Davis’ agent Joel Turner called less than an hour after the draft to let him know he was invited to the Green Bay Packers’ rookie minicamp on Friday and Saturday at the Don Hutson Center in Green Bay, Wis. — the Packer’s indoor practice facility.
“I’m just happy someone called me,” Davis told The Robesonian. “I’m not sure what to expect.”
The Fred Mitchell award winner went undrafted after working out for the San Diego Chargers, Indianapolis Colts, Carolina Panthers and the Atlanta Falcons in April. The workouts came after suffering an ankle injury at his pro day at Campbell University on March 20, an injury that Turner told Davis might’ve been a warning flag during the draft.
“My agent told me that my ankle was a deterrent for the teams,” Davis said. “The injury just came at a bad time so close to the draft. … The NFL is pretty cutthroat.”
Even through the injury, Davis is still powering through to make the most of the chance.
“It is pretty tough kicking, but I figured I’d grit through it,” he said.
The Packers already have kicker Mason Crosby and punter Jacob Schum on the roster, and picked up undrafted free agent punter Justin Vogel from the University of Miami. According to Green Bay’s SBnation page, Davis is the only kicker that will be at the minicamp.
He comes in with no expectations, but also with no fear of a possible position battle with Crosby.
“I’m not scared of it. When talking to Atlanta they told me they wanted me to take Matt Bryant’s job and he’s been to the Pro Bowl before so it doesn’t bother me,” he said.
The Panthers were the only team of the ones Davis worked out for to draft a kicker when they picked Harrison Butker from Georgia Tech in the seventh round. Several mock drafts had Davis being taken by Carolina with that pick.
“I was disappointed because that guy was ranked 12th in most polls below me,” Davis said. “I thought I put up a lot better stats than him, but I understand some of it was because of my ankle.
At UNCP, Davis set the NCAA Division II career mark for field goal percentage going 37-for-44 with a long of 58 yards coming as a senior. He was also 6-for-7 from beyond 50 yards with his lone loss coming at Valdosta State in the NCAA Division II playoffs.
