Davis Cheek
Quarterback / Elon

Alex Khvatov:  What are your measurements (height, weight and forty time)?

Davis Cheek:  Height is 6’2 and currently my weight is 212.    

Alex Khvatov:  How are you currently preparing for the 2020 season with no offseason training?

Davis Cheek:  It is pretty much normal for me.  I am watching film.  I train as much as possible.  We should get the weights next week.  Without practice with the team, I have been watching film.  Doing that personal preparation.  

Alex Khvatov:  Besides football, what other sports did you play in high school?

Davis Cheek:  I played basketball growing up.  Before that, I played baseball and golf.  I never played tennis in competition, but my dad was a good tennis player.  I played basketball in high school.  I graduated high school early, and I stopped playing around my junior year to focus on football.

Alex Khvatov:  When did you start playing QB? 

Davis Cheek:  I always wanted to be a QB.  I was like four years old playing as a kid in my backyard.  I was watching Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.   

Alex Khvatov:  Coming out of high school, what programs showed interest in you?

Davis Cheek:  I started for two years during my junior and senior year.  I went to Butler high school in North Carolina.  We had a good program.  We had a tradition of QB’s going to D-I.  I wanted to keep it going.  I didn’t have great stats as a junior.  Elon was my first offer.  No one showed crazy interest in me.  At the end of my process, I had better senior stats.  Campbell offered me and Lafayette in PA.  I stuck with Elon.  The staff and their head coach left before I got there.  The new staff came in December.  I had to makes sure that the offer still stood.  Coach Cignetti honored my commitment.    

Alex Khvatov:  Why did you choose Elon? 

Davis Cheek:  Charlotte, North Carolina is my home.  Both of my parents moved during my senior year of high school.  My mom got a job in Alabama, and my dad moved to DC.  I moved to live with a buddy of mine.  Elon offered the opportunity for me to play early and often.    

Alex Khvatov:  Describe your overall career.        

Davis Cheek:  I came in my freshman year and I was competing for the starting job.  Game two of my freshman season, I ended up starting.  I started eight games as a freshman year.  I won Offensive Rookie of the Year in the conference.  During my sophomore year, we had a great team.  We had senior leadership.  We beat James Madison that year.  I started the first six games.  Then I tore my ACL in my left knee.  It was 10 months to the day before I started my first game as a junior.  We had young guys and inexperience.  We had to work through it.   

Alex Khvatov:  You came back from an ACL injury this past year.  How were able to deal with that adversity?

Davis Cheek:  It was an experience that I have never gone through before.  My dad told me that surgery will be tough on my body.  I now realize what he meant.  I have been taking it one day at time.  It has been my approach.  You can’t walk at first.  You learn how to walk up the stairs.  Stairs were my worst nightmare the first two months.  I have leaned on some people for help, and it brought me closer to the team in general.    

Alex Khvatov:  What are your strengths?

Davis Cheek:  My mind.  I can make quick decisions.  I am very decisive.  I am more athletic than most people might think.  I can get out of situations.  I understand the game of football and how to play this game.    

Alex Khvatov:  What areas of your game are you trying to improve upon?

Davis Cheek:  I am always working on footwork.  At times, I try to sit and hold the ball for too long.  I need to trust what I am seeing and get the ball out of my hands.  I was trying to do too much last year. 

Alex Khvatov:  What is the highlight of your career up to this point?

Davis Cheek:  Mainly the growth of not only me, but everyone around me.  I have learned about myself and my teammates.  I learned how to talk to certain people.  The growth of our team.    

Alex Khvatov:  What is the biggest lesson that you have taken away from your coaching staff? 

Davis Cheek:  First thing is just having a good player led culture.  Being a rock for the community and football.  In CFB, coaches change all the time, but we are still here as players.  We need to understand and come together.  Look at what LSU player led team did this past year.     

Alex Khvatov:  What is your favorite NFL team?

Davis Cheek:  I have always been a Panthers fan.   

Alex Khvatov:  Who is your favorite NFL player?

Davis Cheek:  Aaron Rodgers is my favorite.  He is so talented.  I also admire Tom Brady, Jimmy G, Patrick Mahomes and Peyton Manning. 

Alex Khvatov:  Which QB do you model your game after?

Davis Cheek:  I watch Carson Wentz, Tom Brady, and Drew Brees.  You have to be mentally tough and strong.  You need to be consistent.  The decision making for Brees is off the charts.  He has more 5,000-yard seasons than anybody else. 

Alex Khvatov:  What players on your team should we keep an eye on for this upcoming season?

Davis Cheek:  OL Chad Nelson is a good player.  I have a good connection with WR Kortez Weeks.  WR Jackson Parham is an outside guy who is making good strides.  LB Devonte Chandler is a talented dude.  He will be a force for our team. 

Alex Khvatov:  Who is the best player that you have faced on an opposing team?

Davis Cheek:  We played Nasir Adderley from Delaware.  I played one quarter against him.  He was a good player.  Probably the entire James Madison defense during my freshman year.  They were all good.    

Alex Khvatov:  What is the most important trait for a QB?

Davis Cheek:  Leadership and decision making.  What separates QB’s is consistency over a long career. 

Alex Khvatov:  What do you enjoy most about football?

Davis Cheek:  The impact it has on people.  It has been awesome to me.  We talk to kids, and we inspire them.  People light up when you talk football and sports.  World needs sports right now. 

Alex Khvatov:  What can we expect from Elon this upcoming season? 

Davis Cheek:  We have more experience coming back.  It is an invaluable thing.  We have a lot of pieces.  We can be that surprise team this year.    

Alex Khvatov:  What are your hobbies?

Davis Cheek:  I am a laid-back person.  I play the call of duty.  I am picking up the second language, which is French.  I have a dog and I train with him.   

Alex Khvatov:  What is your definition of a leader?

Davis Cheek:  A leader is someone who can consistently show up.  He draws people to him.  It is not someone that is loud or quiet.  He is someone you want to follow.  He inspires people to keep doing what you are doing.

Alex Khvatov:  What makes you unique?

Davis Cheek:  My ability to consistently improve.  Make myself a better player and person every year.   

Alex Khvatov:  What do you want to do with your life after your football career is over?

Davis Cheek:  I am a strategic communications major.  I am not exactly sure what I want to do after football.  I want to focus on football for as long as I can.  I want to play in the NFL or the CFL.  It is a goal of mine.    

Alex Khvatov:  What five words best describe you?

Davis Cheek:  Ambitious, adaptable, driven, disciplined, and reliable.