In high school football, it is common for players to move around from position to position, but for Mustang senior Zach Davis, it has been a whirlwind since his sophomore year.

Davis will line up as a starter at safety this year for the Bronco football team, and it will be the fourth position he has played in his high school career for Mustang.

As a sophomore Davis was a backup running back for the Broncos as well as a reserve outside linebacker on the defensive side of the ball for MHS. As a junior last year, Davis was moved outside under the new coaching staff as a starting cornerback. Davis lined up several plays on offense for MHS, but the majority of his duties fell on the defensive side of the ball.

Davis has put on about 30 to 40 pounds of muscle since his sophomore days at Mustang High School, so maybe that could account for the different positions the senior has seen in his tenure.

Last season, Davis excelled at the cornerback position as he used his size and strength to jam receivers at the line of scrimmage, throwing the timing of the opposing offenses off in many ways. Davis is a very physical football player. He said he enjoys coming up to the line of scrimmage and making a big hit on an opposing offensive player, so the safety position is the perfect location on the field for Davis.

At the safety position, Davis will still have coverage responsibilities as he will be the back end of the defense, but he will have many more opportunities to come up to the line of scrimmage and stop the opposing run games with big hits.

Fellow senior Emilio Daugherty will be the other safety for the Broncos defense this year, and they will both be expected to lead the way as senior starters on the defense.

“As the senior leaders of the defense, Emilio and I have to be vocal and make sure that the cornerbacks, linebackers and defensive linemen know what they are doing,” Davis said. “We are looking forward to the responsibility we are going to have on the defense this year. I think we have a chance to be a really good defense if we continue to work hard and progress the way we need to.”

Davis’s rare ability to be able to come up and stop the run like a linebacker, but turn around and play coverage like a cornerback is very similar to that of Pittsburgh Steelers future Hall of Fame safety Troy Polamalu.

Polamalu hits like a linebacker and covers like a cornerback, which is exactly what Davis does on the field for Mustang.

When it comes to expecting a lot from himself, Davis takes a backseat to no one. He will call it as he sees it at any time.

“I think the start of fall practice went really well,” Davis said. “We had high intensity and we were focused, but we got a little sloppy after that. We didn’t have as much intensity and we lost focus a little bit. Overall, I feel pretty good about how fall practice went.”