INDIANAPOLIS — Anthony Davis knows all about his doubters.
The mammoth offensive tackle, also known as the most heralded recruit in Rutgers’ otherwise dismal football history, will soon have the chance to become the Scarlet Knights’ highest-drafted player.
But Davis knows he has plenty of questions to answer first as the 20-year-old takes part in the scouting combine this weekend, most of them centering on his weight and maturity.
An early entry in the NFL Draft who is projected by some as a top-five choice, the 6-foot-6, 323-pound Davis tried to make it clear yesterday that those issues won’t follow him to the next level.
“[The team that drafts him] will see passion in my game every time I step on the field and willingness to get better and be the best at what I’m doing,” Davis said.
Many of those doubts stemmed from an incident last summer when Davis was demoted to second team for a week during fall practice after reporting five pounds over his 315-pound target weight. Davis also was suspended one game for violating team rules in 2008 and benched for a quarter last season for missing a team meeting.
While none of that was outrageous, particularly in light of his exceptionally quick feet and massive upper-body strength, it is enough to prompt some red flags among scouts and potentially hurt Davis’ draft position.
“He takes a few too many plays off,” an AFC general manager told The Post. “You’ve got to be a little worried about the inconsistency, but the kid’s only 20. There’s an awful lot to like.”
Davis already appears to be making progress on the ma turity front. He is a far cry from the 366-pound mess that reported to Rutgers three years ago follow ing the Piscata way native’s sur prise decision to stay home, and Davis has spent much of the off- season in Arizona in intense preparation for the draft.
Davis said the strict regimen at the Athletes’ Performance Institute in Phoenix has been invigorating.
“It’s like a full-time job,” he said. “You have to be there around 9:15 every day. The training has been great.”
Of course, it will take a lot more than some time at a training center to convince Davis’ skeptics in the league. Along those lines, he has the skills to start at left tackle — the tougher of the two tackle spots — but might have to play on the right side initially until questions about his maturity are fully answered.
Davis admitted he might not have come out so early for the draft if not for growing talk of a rookie-wage scale starting in 2011.
“[The possibility of a rookie cap] was in the back of my head,” he said.
But there is no questioning Davis’ skills: He allowed just two sacks last year, both of them came in the same game (a loss to Cincinnati), and did not miss a game due to injury during his college career.
Davis also takes pride in most likely going higher in the draft than any other Rutgers product before him. Wide receiver Kenny Britt, who went 30th overall last year to the Titans, is the only Scarlet Knight ever taken in the first round.
“It would mean a lot to me and mean a lot to Rutgers [to be the school’s first top-10 pick],” he said. “That would be great.”
Davis certainly sounded more mature when talking with reporters after his combine physical.
It might have sounded at times like a prepared speech for the interviews with seven unspecified teams that were coming later that night, but Davis came off as humbled after hearing the whispers.
“It’s a gift to be able to play something I love for a living,” Davis said. “A lot of people would give up a lot to be in my shoes, and I don’t take that for granted.”