Bruce Davis is a high-energy, talkative pass rusher who will more likely move to outside linebacker at the next level.

Knowing Oakland Raiders' owner Al Davis' affection for legacies, putting Bruce in silver and black isn't out of the question. Bruce Davis, Sr., was a member of two Super Bowl championship teams, playing offensive tackle with the Raiders (1979-87) and Houston Oilers (1987-89) after earning varsity letters from 1975-78 with the UCLA Bruins.

Having patterned his style of play after Miami's Jason Taylor, Bruce Davis Jr. showed during Senior Bowl practices that he might still be raw playing linebacker, but also displayed the athleticism and urgency in his play to do whatever it takes to get to the quarterback consistently. Despite giving up more than 50 pounds to opposing offensive tackles, Davis ranked second in school history with 29 quarterback sacks and third with 42.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage.

At Clear Creek High School, Davis received a six-star prospect rating from Max Emfinger's recruiting service and earned All-American accolades, in addition to being ranked 19th among the nation's defensive ends, according to Tom Lemming. He added Super Prep All-American and All-Southwest/Texas honors, as that recruiting service rated him the 20th-best overall prospect in the state.

The Prep Star All-American selection added All-Greater Houston area and All-League recognition as a senior. That season, he recorded 65 tackles (50 solo), 12 quarterback sacks and 17 stops for losses. As a junior, he registered 32 tackles, including eight sacks. He also lettered in track, competing in the long jump.

Davis originally agreed to attend the University of Arkansas, but later changed his mind and enrolled at his father's alma mater. During the 2003 season, he redshirted as a defensive end for the Bruins. The following season, Davis started the team's first two games at right defensive end, sharing that position with Justin Hickman and Brigham Harwell the rest of the year. He posted 17 tackles (11 solo) with 2.5 sacks and broke up one pass.

Davis shifted to strong-side linebacker prior to the 2005 campaign. Due to injuries, he also competed at defensive end that year. In 12 contests as a reserve, he was in on 28 tackles (17 solos) with a pair of sacks and six stops for losses. He also caused a fumble and showed his coverage skills by deflecting four passes.

Back at right defensive end, the coaching staff unleashed Davis while moving Hickman to the left side. Both of those players ended up with the team and Pac-10 Conference lead, while ranking fourth nationally with 12 ½ sacks, the third-best season total in school annals.

Davis ranked second in the league with 17.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage and produced 47 tackles (35 solos) while causing three fumbles and recovering two others. Even though he earned first-team All-American honors from College Football News, the league's coaches only selected him to the All-Pac 10 Conference second-team.

As a senior, Davis garnered All-American second-team and All-Pac-10 first-team honors. He started all year at right end, pacing the league while ranking ninth nationally with 12 sacks. He led the Bruins with 15 ½ stops for losses, as he caused two fumbles and recovered another. He broke up nine passes and registered 45 tackles (32 solo).

In 50 games at UCLA, Davis started 28 contests at right defensive end. He recorded 137 tackles (95 solos) with 29 sacks for minus 170 yards and 42 ½ stops for losses of 229 yards. He posted five quarterback pressures and deflected seventeen passes. He caused six fumbles and recovered three others, returning two for a total of 20 yards.

Positives:

Lacks the ideal strength, size and bulk to consistently combat offensive tackles on the line and does not have the quick feet to give long chase as an outside linebacker, but with his thick frame, broad shoulders and thick chest, he could be a perfect fit at strong-side linebacker in a 3-4 alignment at the next level … Is a decent second-effort player who gets most of his production when unblocked … Plays with a high motor and very good emotion … Durable player who will compete with injuries that would sideline others (back on the field with no missed time in 2005 after arthroscopic knee surgery two weeks earlier) … Has matured over the years, showing the work ethic that he did not display when he first arrived on campus as a freshman … Runs with a normal stride and steady acceleration and has the initial quickness off the snap, as well as the ability to accelerate in pursuit when he takes a straight-line path to the quarterback … Shows aggressiveness when taking on blockers, but needs to learn when to avoid the big men rather than battle them in attempts to get to the ball … Tough player who likes a challenge in one-on-one confrontations and could be successful moving to linebacker, as he generally wins battles when attempting to stack, control and reroute tight ends and slot receivers (better using his hands vs. tight end blocks with the ability to shed and close on outside runs) … Slow to read at times and will get fooled by play-action, but his motor never shuts down … When he gets a quick read, he can flash into the backfield and take a bead on the quarterback to pressure or sack … Might lack the lower-body strength to anchor, but when he keeps his hands active, his counter moves will let him gain advantage over a slower offensive lineman … Has enough quickness to fill the rush lanes, but must stay low in his pads to do so, or guards will quickly wash him away from the play … Has the short-area range and good concept for taking anglers to disrupt the backfield coming off the edge … When he extends his arms and keeps his hands inside his frame, he has success at creating separation … Has the functional speed vs. the outside run to seal the edge and force the action back inside (fails to do so when he gets too tall in his stance) … Has good desire to make the play and while he lacks natural hands for the interception, he is very good timing his leaps and extending himself to bat down passes at the line of scrimmage … Plays with good body lean and has an efficient rip move to get an edge on the outside shoulder of a blocker … Uses his hands effectively to reroute short area receivers and disrupt the play,

Negatives: Undersized to play defensive end and has just adequate muscle definition, but his frame is ideal for a shift to strong-side linebacker at the next level … Shows adequate balance and agility moving forward, but struggles to redirect on the move, lacking the loose hips to fly to the ball … Needs several reps to retain plays and might struggle digesting a complicated playbook … Plays with good urgency to close once he locates the ball, but has only adequate instincts and showed at Senior Bowl practices that he will bite on play-action and pump fakes … Must show better hand usage playing off blockers, as he seems to lack a natural feel for eluding bigger people and will stay engaged with blockers too long, resulting in ballcarriers having success running in his area … Needs to play at a better pad level, as he tends to get too tall in his stance, causing him to struggle at the point of attack, as the bigger offensive linemen are able to get into his chest, lock on and control him … Uses his hands to get separation and shed blockers and get to the ball vs. tight ends and back, but struggles to gain leverage when matched up one-on-one with an offensive guard when working in-line … Gets too caught up in hand-to-hand combat with linemen at times, and is too slow shedding blocks … Must do a better job of protecting himself vs. low blocks when giving chase on outside runs and his angles and acceleration are inconsistent when playing in space … Slow to redirect off up-field moves and while he has the straight-line closing speed and effort to reach across the field, he will struggle to redirect (stiff hips) … Has good timed speed, but outside the short area, he fails to generate the top-end speed needed to pursue long distances … Needs to show better body control on the move when making open-field tackles … Shows quickness and acceleration as an edge rusher, but is inconsistent working through blocks (must keep his hands active and use his spin move better, as he tends to go right after the blocker rather than try to slip under blocks) … Plays too tall on inside twist stunts, getting easily blocked, as he does not do a great job of protecting his feet, especially vs. double teams (does not have the lower-body strength to stack and control) … Does not show the punishing power to collapse the pocket when trying to shoot the gap … Must develop a better feel for taking angles, as while he has success getting to the quarterback vs. slower blockers, his penchant for taking a wide loop will see him be consistently late to close at the next level.

Compares To: TEDY BRUSCHI-New England … Bruschi terrorized Pac-10 quarterbacks as a right defensive end at Arizona and had just marginal success when he first shifted to linebacker and played on the outside earlier in his NFL career. Bruce Davis, a player with the same kind of motor and style of play, could develop in the right system. He'll need a patient coach and a spot at strong-side inside linebacker in a 3-4 alignment, where his lack of long pursuit speed can be covered up. He might make a decent OLB at the next level, but for the way he plays inside the box, he will have better success following Bruschi's path in the pro ranks.

1999: Suffered a right thumb fracture during his high school freshman year.

2005: Had arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus early in August camp, but did not miss any game action.

Campus: 4.77 in the 40-yard dash … 340-pound bench press … Bench pressed 225 pounds 20 times … 34 ¼-inch arm length … 10 1/8-inch hands.

Attended Clear Creek (League City, Tex.) High School, playing football for head coach Aubrey Schulz … Received a six-star prospect rating from Max Emfinger's recruiting service and earned All-American accolades, in addition to being ranked 19th among the nation's defensive ends, according to Tom Lemming … Added Super Prep All-American and All-Southwest/Texas honors, as that recruiting service rated him the 20th-best overall prospect in the state … The Prep Star All-American selection added All-Greater Houston Area and All-League recognition as a senior … That season, he recorded 65 tackles (50 solo), 12 quarterback sacks and 17 stops for losses … As a junior, he registered 32 tackles, including eight sacks … Also lettered in track, competing in the long jump.

History major … Earned Director's Honor Roll in Spring 2005 … Father, Bruce, Sr., was a member of two Super Bowl championship teams, playing offensive tackle with the Oakland Raiders (1979-87) and Houston Oilers (1987-89) after earning varsity letters from 1975-78 with the UCLA Bruins … Uncle, Ronnie Davis, played for the Bruins from 1977-79 … Mother's name is Lorna Hawkins … Born Bruce Edward Davis II on 9/02/85 in Los Angeles, California … Resides in Houston, Texas.