CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Among the players in the Carolina Panthers' minicamp this weekend that possess NFL experience and might be of interest to ACC fans is former Clemson tailback James Davis.
Entering his fourth professional season, Davis was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft, but in two seasons with the Browns and Washington Redskins, Davis carried the ball just 28 times. He spent last season on the practice squads for the Houston Texans and Detroit Lions, but never saw any game action.
Davis is in camp with the Panthers and views his opportunity as pretty much a last attempt at sticking in the league.
"That's the way I'm approaching it," said Davis, who missed his rookie season with an injury. "I'm coming out here and I have to stand out and show these guys I want it. I can't be out here playing around. I'm trying to make this team. I'm trying to be an eye-opener."
NFL teams rarely use practice squad spots on players with more than two years in the league, instead saving them for younger players. Davis got somewhat an exception because of his lost rookie season. The general belief in the NFL is that if you haven't proven you can play in the league by your third season you won't be in the league.
Davis, who ran for 3,881 yards and scored 47 touchdowns, caught 51 passes with two scores and earned first-team All-ACC during his Clemson career, is excited that this opportunity is with the franchise closest to where he played in college. He also says it's cool that the Panthers' home games in their first season were at Clemson's Memorial Stadium in Death Valley.
The Atlanta native is optimistic this is the right situation for him.
"I think that part makes it exciting," he said. "I have a lot of Clemson fans that are supporting me. It really doesn't get much better than that.
"Somebody tweeted me yesterday saying they can go to a Clemson game on Saturday and come to a Carolina/Clemson game on Sunday... It's the closest I've played to Clemson since I've been in the league, so it's definitely a big opportunity, and I'm going to take advantage of it."
How Are Beason & Davis?
Two of the best known and most appreciated players in the franchise are also two that enter the coming season under a cloud of uncertainty.
Linebackers Jon Beason and Thomas Davis are coming off seasons essentially lost to knee injuries. Beason went down in the season-opener and Davis in the second game. For Davis, it was his third such injury in the last three campaigns, meaning he's attempting to become the first player in NFL history to come back from three season-ending knee surgeries. In fact, Davis has played in just nine games since 2008.
Panthers' coach Ron Rivera was optimistic this weekend when asked about both players' progress and if he expects them to be ready sooner rather than later.
"Well, I'm pretty confident," the second-year head coach said. "I think, based on what I've seen it's just a matter of time before they're 100 percent and on the football field doing the things we need them to do."
Rivera said there's plenty of playing time to go around at linebacker. But it's also clear that by drafting linebacker Luke Kuechly from Boston College in the first round that it was a position of need, too.
Carolina re-signed Jordan Senn in the offseason, has leading tackler James Anderson back, and brought in Kenny Onatolu (fourth year) and inked Jason Phillips (fourth year), whom the Panthers signed late last season.
"I think that the combination of linebackers that we have is probably going to be five or six guys that will rotate and play in certain packages and give us some diversity as far as what we're going to do on the defensive side of the football," the coach said.
Diamond In The Rough
Of the three groups of players the Panthers have in camp this weekend, the last group is a collection of 32 players with varied NFL experience to none at all to a quarterback with significant Canadian football League time under his belt.
From that bunch the Panthers are hoping and, quite frankly, expecting to find a "diamond in the rough" or two; players that can help the team at some point this coming season.
Asked if any potential diamonds have caught his eye so far, Rivera said, "I think there are, I really do. I think there are a couple of different positions there may be a guy or two that can help us... that people don't know right now."
Rivera wasn't going to mention any names, obviously, because the players aren't bound to contracts, so there's no need to alert any other teams of a hidden gem within their ranks.
That said, wide receiver Dominique Edison appeared to catch some eyes right away in Friday's workout. Edison, who played collegiately at Stephen F. Austin, was in five games with the Tennessee Titans in 2009 and spent parts of last season with the Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans.
Unfortunately for Edison, though, he was later carted off the field with an apparent injury, but it didn't appear serious.
