NU's Davie grows into weak-side LB position

It doesn't take much to get Quentin Davie to flash his sense of humor.

After all, the redshirt junior linebacker claims to be the biggest jokester on Northwestern's roster.

But you have to work a little bit for that humor to come out in the form of braggadocio.

After the St. Louis native played it respectful and close to the vest with several questions, he finally was asked to reveal his time when NU's strength and conditioning staff conducted 20-yard dash tests during the off-season.

"I'm not sure of the exact time," he said with a smile. "I would just say fast."

Davie always has been fast. He was such a good athlete at Cardinal Ritter High School, he stood out as a dual-threat quarterback in addition to being a two-time all-state linebacker.

But this is the first year Davie has paired fast with massive, which could lead to massive success on the field.

After a ferocious off-season in which he frequently matched workouts with future NFL defensive end Corey Wootton, Davie stacked 12 pounds of muscle on his 6-foot-4 frame to improve to 230 pounds.

That enabled head coach Pat Fitzgerald and linebackers czar Randy Bates to shift Davie from strong-side linebacker to the weak side.

Those names, by the way, are counter-intuitive in the Wildcats' 4-3 scheme. The weak-side linebacker needs to be more powerful as he spends his afternoons inside the box and making plays in traffic.

"The first thing I had to do was get lower every play," Davie said. "When you're in the box, it's not fun to stay up high. I learned that a long time ago.

"I have to change my mentality-wise playing linebacker to being more hard-nosed. In the box you go against the bigger linemen, instead of outside where I was going against receivers more."

Davie's first start at "Will" certainly looked as solid as his improved physique. He piled up a team- and career-high 9 tackles, including 11/2 tackles for loss.

"I would say my tackling form got better (this year)," Davie said. "I'm lower and bringing my hips through because we stressed that a lot in camp."

In return, Northwestern trusts him with more responsibility. When the Wildcats went to the nickel last season against pass-happy teams such as Missouri and Minnesota, Davie hardly saw the field.

This year he'll stay on the weak side or even shift into the middle when the 'Cats go nickel.

" 'Q' has really grown," Fitzgerald said. "He's done a nice job studying video, learning the position, just being a student of the game with Randy Bates and (defensive coordinator) Mike Hankwitz.

"He does a lot and he's able to handle it mentally, which shows you how intelligent of a football player he is. I've just seen a lot of growth each opportunity he's been out there on the field."

Fitzgerald never suggests a Northwestern player appears NFL-bound, but he has a way of alluding to it in an intriguing carrot-on-a-stick style.

"He's got a lot of football in front of him," Fitzgerald said. "As long as he continues to work hard, he's got a bright future."