Former UTC offensive lineman Corey Levin (62) and former Mocs defensive lineman Keionta Davis are the only players from the Southern Conference invited to take part in this year's NFL combine. The scouting event starts Feb. 28 in Indianapolis.Former Red Bank High School and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga defensive end Keionta Davis knows that pegging his NFL destination right now would be as random as determining his favorite team.
Which, by the way, is the Kansas City Chiefs.
"When I was little and was starting to get into football, I told myself one day that I would turn on the TV and that whoever was winning would be my favorite team," Davis said. "That's how I picked the Chiefs. I forget who they were playing, but they became my favorite team.
"If they were to pick me, that would be fantastic."
Davis is another step closer to reaching his goal of playing at the ultimate level after recently receiving an invitation to the NFL combine, which will be held in Indianapolis from Feb. 28 to March 6. UTC guard Corey Levin, who grew up in the Atlanta suburb of Dacula as a Falcons fan, also was invited.
They are the sixth and seventh UTC players to receive combine invitations in the past decade, joining defensive tackle Derrick Lott and linebacker Davis Tull in 2015, quarterback B.J. Coleman in 2013, cornerback Buster Skrine in 2012 and running back Eldra Buckley in 2007.
The Mocs will have more representatives at the combine this winter than three Southeastern Conference schools: Georgia (receiver Isaiah McKenzie), Missouri (defensive lineman Charles Harris) and South Carolina (none).
"I think that's really special, and it speaks to the guys that UTC likes to recruit," said Levin, who along with Davis was a recent guest of "Press Row" on Chattanooga's ESPN 105.1 FM. "We get good players to play ball at Chattanooga, and there are good players all over the country and good football all over the country. It doesn't matter the level."
The combine does not guarantee an NFL selection this spring, as 330 players have been invited and there are only 253 slots in the seven-round draft. There were 117 players last year who went to Indianapolis but were not drafted, or 35.2 percent, but it's definitely better to be at the coveted showcase than not.
"It's another chance to show the scouts how good I am at the physical things they are looking for," Davis said. "I'm not going to get too hyped about things. I'm just going to go up there and answer some questions."
Davis is coming off a six-tackle, one-sack showing at last month's Senior Bowl, which followed a senior year that included a November clash at top-ranked Alabama, when he made four tackles and half a sack and forced a fumble. Most of that output came against Crimson Tide left tackle and projected first-round pick Cam Robinson, with Davis claiming that night "pretty much got me in the Senior Bowl."
NFLdraftscout.com rates Davis as the No. 17 defensive end and as a fifth- or sixth-round selection. In the seventh-round mock draft on draftsite.com, Davis is projected as a fifth-round pick of the Green Bay Packers.
Levin is listed on NFLdraftscout.com as the No. 17 guard and the No. 273 overall prospect, which would leave him as a free agent, but draftsite.com has him as the second pick of the seventh round and going to San Francisco.
The number of mock drafts is certain to increase between now and April - "I'd be lying if I said I didn't look at that stuff, because you always wonder," Davis said - and the two former Mocs would enhance their chances with strong showings in Indianapolis.
"At first, we'll probably feel pretty nervous, because there will be a bunch of cameras," Levin said. "There will be a lot of big-name people around at every corner you turn, but before you do any of the workouts you're there for three days getting sized up, measured up and interviewed.
"By the time we actually have to perform some on-field workouts, we'll be settled in and ready to go."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.