Bruce Edward Davis II has always wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps.

The backup Steelers linebacker did so in college, becoming an All-American at UCLA, where his father, former Raiders offensive tackle Bruce Sr., played from 1975-78 and his mother, Lorna, ran track.

But the rookie is far from finished. He remembers at a young age his dad showing him his two Super Bowl rings still nestled in their original casing.

“I’d say, ‘If he’s got two, I’ve got to get two,’ ” Davis said. “It’s always been a dream.”

His first chance comes in a story book scenario on Super Bowl Sunday in Tampa, where his dad earned his second ring as a member of the Raiders’ upset of the Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII at Tampa Stadium on Jan. 22, 1984.

Like father, like son.

“I’ve been saying all week, ‘What did I do right to deserve all this?’ ” said Davis, who was born 20 months after his father’s win in Tampa. “It’s been crazy.

Said his father: “For most adults, sometimes it takes a lifetime to realize your full potential and your dream. For most of us it’s in your 40s and 50s. He’s doing it at 23 years old.”

Davis, backup to LaMarr Woodley, hopes to mimic the former Michigan star who has tutored him since training camp. Davis, like Woodley, was converted from defensive end, where he was one of college football’s premier pass rushers, racking up 24½ sacks in his final two seasons before being drafted in the third round. Davis, who at 6 feet 2, 252 pounds has mostly played on special teams, said he has been “soaking in everything” from his All-Pro teammates, while patiently waiting his turn to take his place in the franchise’s storied linebacker tradition.

Davis is “quick off the ball and instinctive,” said UCLA defensive line coach Todd Howard, a former Chiefs linebacker and Rams assistant. “I think he has the ability and intellect (to make the switch).”

He also has the bloodline. Davis Sr. said he has talked to his son about preparing for the big game, and remembers his Tampa Super Bowl as if it were yesterday. There was the pregame media hype and trash talk, with Redskins defensive end Dexter Manley running his mouth, “I think the most famous one was he was going to ‘feed me to the alligators,’ ” Davis said, laughing.

“I remember telling (Manley) after the game, ‘You can go touch Jim (Plunkett) now, cause you didn’t during the game.’ ”

In Super Bowl XVIII, nothing went as expected. The favored Redskins, behind league MVP Joe Theismann and fullback John Riggins, were supposed to run all over the Raiders.

Instead, in the 38-9 Raiders victory, often called “Black Sunday,” it was a Marcus Allen run that is etched in Super Bowl lore. The game MVP had a highlight-reel 74-yard scoring run on the final play of the third quarter in which he changed direction.

“Marcus actually missed a hole — there was a hole you could have driven a truck through,” Davis joked. “He had to put a little flair in it.”

The celebration had its own flair, too, with the Raiders toasting “about 120 bottles of Dom Perignon,” and Davis smoking a Cuban cigar for the first time.

Davis told his son to consider the Super Bowl like a “business trip,” but also reminded him to “take it all in. It’s something you’ll never forget the rest of your life.”

Davis, who is a middle school teacher in the Washington D.C. area, will assemble what could be a large family fan club at Raymond James Stadium: daughter Jennifer is working on her Ph.D. in California and younger son Ian is a freshman walk-on defensive end at UCLA, who wears the same No. 44 his older brother did.

Whether another Davis gets to hold the Lombardi Trophy remains to be seen, but he’ll likely have a similar emotional moment before the game.

“I remember being the second player introduced, running out of the tunnel and looking and seeing my parents,” Davis Sr. said.

When Davis has his chance, they’ll be able to share more than a look.

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/football/bucs/article969798.ece

Some of you might remember Bruce Davis – the former UCLA defensive end with a monster speed rush and a flair for the dramatic.

Well, “The Sack Master” – as he was known around these parts – just might be the luckiest son of a gun in the world.

After getting drafted last spring, Davis spent all of this season transforming himself into an outside linebacker. There’s no place in the league for a 6-foot, 3-inch, 234-pound defensive end. So he put on 20 pounds, discarded his three-point stance and learned the ways of a ‘backer.’

He dressed for only five games this season and doesn’t have an NFL stat line yet. He wasn’t even on the active roster in three playoff games, but he did do something right.

He got drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Even though Davis has yet to make a tackle in the professional ranks or celebrate his first NFL sack, he now has a permanent title in front of his name: “Super Bowl Champion.”

Not too shabby for a guy who just one year ago was wondering where he might fall in the draft.

Now all he’s wondering is when that UPS truck will roll up to his door and hand him that big ol’ ring.

When that day comes, Davis is going to be looking like Martin Lawrence at the end of “Blue Streak” – high-stepping down the road with a diamond in hand the size of his head, and in complete disbelief that it’s actually his.

And somewhere that same day, former USC quarterback Matt Leinart will be sitting on his hands wondering how he’s ever going to get the Cardinals back to the Super Bowl once Kurt Warner decides to walk away.

But the point is the guy who beat UCLA every time on the field got beat by a Bruin to a Super Bowl win.

And, leaving Troy Polamalu out of this, that’s some sweet payback.

Unlike Davis, Leinart was actually active for the Super Bowl and would’ve stepped in for Warner if the old guy had gone down, but that’s just the fine print at this point.

At the end of the day, Davis is a world champion.

His little to no effect on the actual game? Semantics.

Most players earn their Super Bowl rings on Sunday and Mondays and while Davis didn’t exactly have that kind of impact, it doesn’t mean he shouldn’t have one of those big, shiny fists on his finger in a few months.

Let’s be honest for a second. Pittsburgh probably would have won the Super Bowl without Davis’ help. Saying otherwise would be like saying Barack Obama wouldn’t have won without his own vote.

But those little things tend to add up.

Though I’ve never seen Davis on the Steelers practice field, maybe his impersonation of the Cards linebackers was Oscar-worthy. Maybe he gave some Rudy-like effort on the practice field that was just the motivation Pittsburgh needed. Maybe, on some tiny off chance, Davis was the difference-maker in the Steelers run to the Super Bowl.

Maybe, maybe not.

But when it comes down to it, Davis is a world champion.

http://www.dailybruin.com/news/2009/feb/03/emsuper-bowl-win-settles-score-former-bruinem/

The Steelers are having a hard time replacing Bruce Davis.

Source

“Defense: Bruce Davis–The big knock on him right now is that he is not as strong as he needs to be to dominate at the NFL level. Not many rookies are physically ready 2 weeks into training camp so that’s not a huge deal. He will put on weight and get stronger working with Steelers strength and conditioning coaches all year. Tonight he will most likely get some action later in the game against 2nd and 3rd team Tackles. His speed and quickness should allow him to toast a few slow-footed UDFA Philly linemen on the edge.”

Source here

“Rookie outside linebacker Bruce Davis is off to a slow start, and Tomlin said he needs to see some results from the team’s third-round draft choice.

“He was active, not to be confused with productive [against the Eagles],” Tomlin said. “He’s a young guy with a lot of energy and desire. He’s playing catch-up and he has to catch up in a hurry this week. I’m pleased with his approach, but I need to see some results.” ”

Source here

Bruce is learning the ropes quickly as he trains.

“Although he rooms with second-year pro LaMarr Woodley, Bruce Davis and fellow rookie Tony Hills have seemingly become inseparable at Steelers training camp.

Davis, a third-round pick from UCLA who is being converted from defensive end to outside linebacker, and Hills, a fourth-round offensive tackle from Texas, spent the latter part of last week repeatedly butting heads in one-on-one pass rush/pass protection drills.

The two were matched up by design to get extra practice reps for Davis, who couldn’t attend the offseason OTAs because his class had not yet graduated, and to spark a competitive fire in the two draft picks.

“We’re the two young ones and we have to make each other better,” Davis said. “They drafted us. They expect us to play sometime in our careers. I’m actually fortunate to have a young guy like that because we teach each other a lot.”

Read the rest of the article at: Pittsburghlive.com

TimesOnline.com talk about back in 2006 when Bruce gave a small speech about beating Southern California, and how much he has changed since then.

Click here for the article.

The guys over at MVN.com talk about the good qualities of Bruce Davis. Written by James Pete, he shows us why the Steelers have made a good choice for makeing Bruce an OLB.

You can find the article here.

Here is a YouTube video put together by one of Bruce’s fans of Bruce in action on the field.

Reporter Jim Wexell was interviewed by Blitzburgh of Behind The Steel Curtin yesterday on July 15th, 2008. At one point the conversation turned, for a moment, towards Bruce Davis, and his future in the Steelers. Here is the conversation between Jim and Blitzburgh.

“For somewhat selfish reasons, I have to ask about your honest opinion on Bruce Davis’ chances to emerge as a legitimate 3-down back in this league in the future. I think he has the necessary attitude and mindset to do his job consistently and even make some highlight type plays on special teams right away, but what about as a bona-fide Steelers-type pass-rushing OLB? And what about his potential against the run? If you can’t clean up the dirty work done by the front 3 of a Steelers defense, you aren’t going to stay on the fied too long. Can Davis be that versatile, long-term solution type of player? I ask because he’s agreed to chat with us the fans on multiple occasions and he’s most definitely a friendly and accesible guy. If he can produce, he’s going to be a fan favorite because of his charisma on and off the field. Can he though?

Wexell: I loved watching Bruce Davis play in college, and I believe he can emerge as a 3-down player. When the Steelers drafted Lawrence Timmons to play OLB, I was surprised, because at his size there was no way he’d be able to hold the point. They saw that right away and moved him inside early last season. But Davis was a defensive end. Yes, I know playing the run wasn’t his strong point, but it wasn’t a glaring weakness. You move him off the tackle a bit and he should be fine holding the point as a linebacker. My problem with him is he needs to put on muscle. I kind of doubt he really weighed the 252 he claimed last spring. He has no chest or arms, so maybe there’s even more upside than we initially expected.”

For the rest of the interview between Wexell and Blitzburgh go here.