NFL

Jets’ Demario Davis work ethic is becoming stuff of legend

CORTLAND — Jets linebacker Demario Davis begins practice every day off to the side of the field alone with a blocking sled and linebackers coach Bobby April III.

The sled is meant to mimic an oncoming blocker and Davis has to work on his moves to get past him. It’s one of the little details Davis is trying to perfect in his third season in the NFL.

“I’ve got a lot to prove to the world I feel like,” Davis said Sunday. “I want to be respected as one of the best. The only way you can do that is if you put in the work and get the results.”

Davis’ coaches and teammates say Davis puts in the work. Davis is one of the first players on the field every morning and one of the last ones off every afternoon.

Coach Rex Ryan, who once said he saw Ray Lewis-type leadership qualities in Davis, said Davis organizes groups of teammates to watch film.

“His passion to be good is beyond what I’ve seen from most guys,” April III said. “The guy wants to be a very good player.”

Brandon Bolden of the Patriots struggles for yardage between Demario Davis (right) and Quinton Coples.Getty Images

The Jets need him to be one. Davis took over as the starting inside linebacker last year when the team released Bart Scott.

He showed his athleticism in Week 1 when he chased down Tampa Bay’s Vincent Jackson to prevent a touchdown.

But for a guy who played 95 percent of the Jets’ defensive snaps last year, he did not have a huge impact. He finished the year with 107 tackles, but just one sack and one interception.

“I’ve got to take it to another level,” Davis said. “Every year is about progression. They say the biggest year of growth is from your rookie year to your second year. I could feel that. They say the next biggest one is between your second year and your third year. I can feel that. I did a lot of training in the offseason to be ready for this moment.”

Davis has become the leader of the Jets’ defense. He is not its best player (Muhammad Wilkerson) or its longest-tenured (David Harris), but he has a style that makes others follow.

Shortly after he was drafted in 2012, then-teammate Darrelle Revis said he thought Davis was going to be a great leader. That is now coming to fruition.

Davis (right) and David Harris run drills.Anthony J. Causi/NY Post

“I don’t know if anybody in the league is working harder,” Ryan said of Davis. “You watch him, he’s the first guy in there before meetings and he’s watching tape and he’s bringing people with him. …He’s all in and he wants to be a great player…He can run with anybody in this league as a linebacker. He has some God-given skill, there’s no question. He’s also got a great work ethic and he brings a great attitude every day to the practice field and everywhere else.”

This winter, Davis brought that attitude to Long Island, where he worked with former Pro Bowl linebacker Stephen Boyd, who is now the head coach at Chaminade High School.

Davis would make the 2 ½ hour drive from his New Jersey home to spend a few hours working with Boyd on the finer points of playing linebacker. The two spent time on the field and in the film room studying.

“My athleticism is what lets me play a lot of different positions,” Davis said. “I just never really had anybody that sat down and taught me how to be just a box linebacker. I played in a spread league in college [at Arkansas State]. I was never a box linebacker. I was able to play higher, play fast. It’s so much about slowing the game down and staying low, staying in good body position in the box. Working with him, he just taught me to keep my body inside my body, not crossing my feet up, not standing up too high, just staying low through the whole play. Working with him, he showed me a lot. I feel like it’s going to show up in a major way.”

Davis plans on showing opponents how the work has paid off this season.

“I’ve got to be one of the best in my mind,” Davis said. “Anything less than the best is never good enough. I’m always pursuing excellence in everything I do. I feel like my best can always be better. Last year was nowhere near my best. I’ve got a long way to go.”