Nebraska Football: Lavonte David is finally getting the respect he deserves
The former Nebraska football star is getting noticed.
In the wake of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl win, one Nebraska football alumni had a good game in particular.
Linebacker Lavonte David was a man of many hats on Sunday night. In total, he tallied six tackles and two defended passes in what was a stellar defensive game for the entire Buccaneers unit. He also had the dubious task of guarding prolific Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
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There is no doubt that Kelce got his receptions in, and he was one of the only bright spots of the Kansas City offense on Sunday night. Nevertheless, David did have a very important job of taking away the tight end’s options from the middle of the field. He did it with success, which was extremely important.
It would’ve been hard to stop Kelce from barreling down the field had he been able to have that middle section. Nevertheless, David got the job done.
As he noted in an interview on Good Morning America on Monday morning, David and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense really limited the Kansas City offense. As any team who has played Kansas City will tell you, that is not an easy thing to do. Nevertheless, they had a game plan and they were able to stick with it.
"“The main thing was, we couldn’t get beat over the top,” David said in the Monday morning interview. “We knew they have a good offense and they can strike at any moment, so we just had to play top down and get Patrick (Mahomes) off his spot and that’s what we were able to do. Our defensive line was relentless and everybody was on point in the pass coverage and we were able to eliminate explosive plays and the things they’ve been doing all year and we were able to make them a one-trick pony and execute at a high level.”"
The Super Bowl was just a microcosm of David’s abilities. He has been performing at a high level throughout his entire career. This was the first year that I really thought David got his due nationally.
All throughout the course of the season, I would hear his name pop up on national telecasts, something I had not heard in the past. I feel like this was the year that the league and national media really began to give him credit.
It’s about time he gets his due. Between his great play on Sunday night, his gray play in the 2020 season, and his great play of the course of his career, at least is finally getting recognized. With one Pro Bowl selection in 2015, and three All-Pro Team selections since his career began in 2012, that certainly is a surprisingly low number.
Next. Taking a look at Huskers in the Super Bowl. dark
With 1,124 tackles and 24 sacks in his career, it’s hard to believe he has flown under the radar for so long. However, as evidenced by last night, he is not flying under the radar any longer.