DL Kalia Davis Press Conference

DL Kalia Davis

Press Conference – April 30, 2022

San Francisco 49ers

How good-to-go are you going to be after your knee injury and how is that recovery coming along?

“I’m five months out of surgery. I’m going to get with the 49ers and their training staff. I just can’t wait to work with them. We will take it from there. I’m blessed. I’m happy right now.”

Can you take me through your positional history? I saw you played linebacker, but I’m not sure what level you played at. I saw you played defensive end before moving inside. How has your path influenced your current style of play on the inside?

“I played linebacker in high school, and I was recruited in college as a linebacker, so I played linebacker my freshman and sophomore year at UCF. Then in my junior year, that’s when I moved to defensive end. Five games into my 2019 season, I moved to defensive tackle, and I’ve been a defensive tackle ever since.”

Can you talk about your visit to the 49ers and your interaction with defensive line coach Kris Kocurek, and whether you thought the 49ers might be the spot for you?

“Yeah, so I met him at the combine already as a formal meeting. I met the whole staff, met [general manager] John Lynch, met everybody. Then, they brought me in on the 30 visit. We just got to know each other a little bit more. Coach Kris was taking me through the defense. He was just showing me how similar the UCF defense is to San Fran’s. It is a perfect situation for me. I just have to come in and work.”

Kris Kocurek’s style is very vocal, very loud. Are you used to, or ready for, that type of coaching?

“Of course. When I first moved to defensive tackle, my coach’s name was coach [Shane] Burnham and now he is at Florida State. Him and Coach Kris have a similar play style in that they want to get everything out of you. I actually prefer that coaching style because I’m fairly new to the position. With coach Burnham pushing me like that, that made me into the player I am.”

Can you take us through this journey of being drafted today? How was getting the call from the 49ers?

“It was surreal. I was just sitting on the couch, just watching the picks go by. My mom told me to keep faith and be patient. Then, I got a call five minutes later. It was a very surreal moment for me. It is just unfortunate that I had the knee injury last year, but I’m ready to work now.”