Kalia Davis became the 48th UCF football player to hear his name called at the NFL Draft on Saturday when the Knight was selected in the sixth round of the 2022 draft, 220th overall, by the San Francisco 49ers.
Davis, who started his career at UCF as a linebacker in 2017, became one of the most effective defensive tackles in college football by 2019, earning first-team all-conference honors from Pro Football Focus. He recorded 8.0 tackles for loss and three sacks as a sophomore, adding two hurries, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery in nine starts on the defensive line.
A native of Pensacola, Florida, Davis opted out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic but returned with high expectations for the 2021 campaign. He started strong, totaling 17 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, three hurries and a sack in the first four and a half games, earning AAC Defensive Player of the Week honors once before getting sidelined due to an injury for the remainder of the year.
Davis, a 2020 graduate of UCF, finished his career with 11.0 tackles for loss, three sacks, two pass breakups and 61 tackles in just 28 games played.
He is now the 34th UCF player to be drafted since 2003, and just the fifth UCF player to be drafted as a defensive lineman.
