Indianapolis Colts Football

POWERS AND DAVIS REUNITE IN INDIANAPOLIS

In the family of players that is the NFL, those that enter the league in the same draft class tend to cling to each other.

Going through the jump from college to the NFL can be a strenuous process so being able to lean on fellow players making the same leap is often beneficial.

This was the case back in 2009 as cornerbacks Vontae Davis and Jerraud Powers entered the NFL Draft.

Little did those two know that flash forward three years and their paths would cross again, this time in the same locker room.

“We were the same draft class, 2009, so we ran into each other a lot through the whole process,” Powers said. “I just kept in contact by him wishing me well, and me wishing him well throughout games, seeing him at certain events. We’ve been good friends ever since we’ve both entered the NFL.”

As Davis walked into the locker room Monday morning, he saw some more familiar faces in his new home.

“I know most of the guys, (Jerraud) Powers, Joe Lefeged,” Davis said. “It’s crazy, this league is so small. I’m excited to get to know more of the guys.”

Cornerback Brandon King spent a majority of the 2011 season with Davis and the Miami Dolphins and it’s that familiarity in the secondary room which should make the transition to Indianapolis easier.

“Any time you can go to a team and you know some guys on the team, you kind of don’t feel like the outcast, you can blend in with guys,” Powers said. “It’s not like he’s just a new face that nobody knows him. Everybody has at least heard of Vontae because of his production and what he’s done on the football field.”

Safety Antoine Bethea has a view of Davis’ ability from afar and calls him an ‘aggressive, fast’ corner that can cover.

Powers and him will now get a first-hand look at Davis’ talent and are happy to have another player of his caliber in an already talented secondary.

“You add another playmaker on the field,” Powers said. “He’s made a lot of plays for Miami, interceptions, hitting, no matter what it is, he’s made them. He’ll come at you, loves to play man-to-man coverage, loves the type of scheme we are in.”

If all goes well over the next two weeks, Davis is expected to start opposite Powers in the season opener in Chicago.

Colts fans got a brief scare on Saturday when Powers left the Redskins game with a knee sprain. On Monday though, Powers re-assured those worried that had the game been Week 1 of the regular season, he would have been back on the field.

“I’m fine,” Powers said.

“On the play with Robert Griffin III, I hit him on the sideline and kind of banged my knee a little bit. It ended up getting tight a little bit. I just came out for precautionary reasons but if it was a (regular season) game, I definitely wouldn’t have come out.”