Senior offensive tackle Mike Davis had big shoes to fill when he earned the starting right tackle job at the beginning of last season. "The guy ahead of me (Mitch Van Dyk) is with the Steelers right now," said the 6'4", 285-pound senior from Chico, CA.     

Over the summer between his sophomore and junior seasons, he gained a little weight and worked hard.     

"I wanted to be the best I could be.  We've always had a good offensive line and I was trying to live up to the standards," he said, listing the "standards" as achievability through hard work, never being lazy, working hard every day, having confidence and being ready for every game.     

As a junior, he played in 12 games, starting 11, and was part of a line that allowed a league-low 10 sacks while Vikings threw the ball 423 times. And, he blocked for a running game that totaled 2,500 yards, 208.3 per game.      

He did this by doing something that would benefit a lot of athletes.      

"I actually listened to what my coaches were telling me. I focused on that and tried to put it into action," Davis said, adding that this meant more work in the weight room and a lot of work on technique.      

So, when first year offensive line coach AC Patterson looked over his prospects for this season, he had confidence that Davis was darned good and would continue to get better.     

"He's a leader. He's a team captain and my only senior. Mike works hard. He does everything at full speed, from practice to game…and I mean everything at full speed," said Patterson.      

Davis, who is a Physical Activities and Exercise major and wants to be a fireman following his graduation next spring, also thought he could get better and has been working toward that since the 2014 football season ended…along with his fellow offensive linemen.     

"You're never good enough. You're always striving for perfection," he said.    

To that end, the offensive line worked together all summer, lifting and making sure everyone did all the reps.  After conditioning, they did extra work on our pass sets and reviewed some of the plays for the new guys, he said.     

"I'm always trying to improve my pass sets and I'm getting better. And I'm always working on keeping my feet moving on contact," said Davis.      

The coaches agree that he's continuing to improve.     

"We've worked with him to fix his pass sets and he's getting much better at that. He is still good at the run game," said Patterson.           

The extra work has paid off.  Through the first seven games this season, PSU's offensive line has led the team to 429.1 yards and 38.4 points per game. The running game is better than ever at 258.4 yards per game, including a school-record 465 yards against Montana State. Davis has started every game at right tackle.      

Besides hard work and physical talent, Davis attributes the success of the offensive line to a cohesive spirit.     

"We're so close. We hang out together. We back up each other, watch out for each other. We have a saying…OLP…Offensive Line Pride," Davis said.