Attention to Detail Prepares Maxie for Big Moments
11/18/2019 2:42:00 PM | Football, Student Athlete, Features, Intellectual Development
By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications
Last season's Lehigh-Lafayette football game began with a bang. On the first play from scrimmage of the 154th all-time meeting in the most-played rivalry in college football history, Julian Lynn recorded a strip sack. Davis Maxie corralled the fumble and scampered 43 yards for the touchdown.
"Davis' fumble return will be remembered in The Rivalry for decades," said senior Keith Woetzel. "To start a game off with a defensive touchdown is what dreams are about. That highlight will be replayed over and over again every year until the end of time."
What allowed the play to happen?
Attention to detail… something that's also very important in Maxie's work as a mechanical engineer.
"From a defensive line perspective, the play was made Tuesday instead of Saturday, based on the way we prepared and the reads we had done," said Maxie, currently a senior. "We knew the explosiveness Lafayette would try and attack us with. We knew exactly what they wanted to do because at that point in the year, we had been excelling as a run defense. We had steps we wanted to take to ensure their comfort spot became less comfortable."
Lynn, Maxie and the Mountain Hawks certainly made the Leopards uncomfortable and in doing so, one of the most iconic plays in the rivalry's long and storied history was formed.
"The slide from the guards (guard, center, guard, tackle) slid to me and the other tackle was one-on-one with Julian," said Maxie. "We talked the entire week that the inside move would be available and on the first play of the game, Julian got off the ball and came inside. It was supposed to be a very quick pass, but he got inside so quickly that there was nothing the quarterback could do. By the time Julian hit the quarterback, I came off my edge.
"Julian made sure he could still contain the quarterback," Maxie continued. "That little detail – knowing the tackle was going to overset and me staying around the edge –made that formula work and made that play happen. It's not anything mind blowing, but if you don't pay attention to detail, the play doesn't happen."
Perseverance through Maxie's first two collegiate seasons allowed him to be in position to make such a big play. Just a year earlier, Maxie had zero collegiate games under his belt.
Instead of giving up, he wanted to prove people wrong even more.
"For a lot of people, I'm not supposed to be here," said Maxie. "The chips have always been stacked against me. There was never a moment when I was the guy who people put on the top of their prospect list or the person who would jump out of the crowd."
Despite not being highly ranked, Maxie has developed a strong niche on the field after not playing organized tackle football until his freshman year of high school. Over his tenure, he played plenty of offense (tight end/wide receiver) and defense (defensive end/linebacker/safety).
"By my senior year of high school, I was a utility player," said Maxie. "I played wherever the coaches thought was the best fit was for the team to be successful. During the spring, I was even a backup quarterback."
That versatility turned into a positive as Maxie entered college. The Mountain Hawk coaches saw plenty of potential in the Florida native.
"They saw me as not necessarily a project, but a blank sheet who they felt could be really effective and athletic coming off the edge," said Maxie.
Davis entered college embracing the "blank sheet" mindset.
In other words, he was open to learning.
"Coming in, I first wanted to figure out how things worked," said Maxie. "I wanted to figure out how every single guy did their day-to-day activities and how I could make our football schedule a part of me. Once I was able to get acclimated, I naturally started to grow not only as a football player, but also as a person. As things started translating in my life, they started translating on the field as well.
As Maxie continued, "I developed a bit of fire towards the end of my sophomore year because there were opportunities in the lineup and I had to stay ready in case my number was called. Sophomore spring ultimately set me up for playing my junior year."
Even though all of Maxie's collegiate games played has come as a junior and senior, he has made a lot happen in his opportunities. Two of the program's biggest plays in recent memory – the Lafayette fumble return last year and viral hit on the Saint Francis (Pa.) punter this season – included Maxie.
It's no coincidence a detail-oriented engineering major would find himself in the middle of so many big plays.
"Davis is very conscientious in his preparations," said Gilmore. "Whenever he's on the field, there's always that potential for a big play to happen. From a practice standpoint, he works really hard at what we're doing. He's had a knack of making big plays."
Maxie has made big plays from a number of defensive positions and even on special teams. He has played a hybrid defensive end/linebacker position.
"Davis is very athletic," said Gilmore. "As a defensive end, he's much more athletic than your typical defensive end at this level. He probably does have the skills to be a linebacker and has played a bit in that capacity, too."
As Maxie said, "The hybrid position matches my strengths."
Another strength for Maxie is in mechanical engineering.
"Growing up, I never really had a name for engineering. I couldn't point it out as something I wanted to do, but I always knew I had a good connection to numbers and math," he said. "I wasn't building a laptop from bottom up, but I was the person who was building with their Legos and Lincoln Logs. It always drove me, then I realized I could do it for the good of others in the form of a service or product.
"I realized making a difference through my creations was a true possibility," Maxie continued. "Seeing mechanical engineering could present that opportunity sparked my interest."
Maxie gained valuable workplace experience this past summer, interning with the STRAX Intelligence Group in his hometown of Boca Raton, Florida.
"It's a company which creates its own software and products to help with security," he said. "They work with local police departments to help security for large crowds and public situations. I didn't know much about what I'd be doing until I got there. While there, I realized how such a big idea can be brought down to small details."
Details are everywhere – in the classroom, on the football field and in everyday life.
"I've seen how details affect me in my mechanical engineering life, and I've been able to translate that focus and importance onto the football field," said Maxie. "Being detail oriented is very important, especially with the kind of operation we run. Team defense is one of the hardest things to do at any level. It requires a lot of specific focus from everybody… and details."
They're details that made last year's strip sack and fumble return happen.
"Who could ever forget Davis' amazing ball security running down the field," said senior Juwan Morrow. "On top of one of the best ways to start a rivalry game, I can't see this moment fading anytime soon."
Details have also helped the Mountain Hawks' defense take a big step forward in 2019.
"The general idea of everybody's job is so broad and basic; you can break it down into a couple words," said Maxie. "But at the end of the day, the specific details on our reads and our reactions to the guys across the line are the differences between an okay, good and championship defense. The coaches harp on details because the only way we can be great is if we attack those details every single day."
What big moment will happen in Saturday's installment of The Rivalry because of attention to detail?
Only time will tell.
Last season's Lehigh-Lafayette football game began with a bang. On the first play from scrimmage of the 154th all-time meeting in the most-played rivalry in college football history, Julian Lynn recorded a strip sack. Davis Maxie corralled the fumble and scampered 43 yards for the touchdown.
"Davis' fumble return will be remembered in The Rivalry for decades," said senior Keith Woetzel. "To start a game off with a defensive touchdown is what dreams are about. That highlight will be replayed over and over again every year until the end of time."
What allowed the play to happen?
Attention to detail… something that's also very important in Maxie's work as a mechanical engineer.
"From a defensive line perspective, the play was made Tuesday instead of Saturday, based on the way we prepared and the reads we had done," said Maxie, currently a senior. "We knew the explosiveness Lafayette would try and attack us with. We knew exactly what they wanted to do because at that point in the year, we had been excelling as a run defense. We had steps we wanted to take to ensure their comfort spot became less comfortable."
Lynn, Maxie and the Mountain Hawks certainly made the Leopards uncomfortable and in doing so, one of the most iconic plays in the rivalry's long and storied history was formed.
"The slide from the guards (guard, center, guard, tackle) slid to me and the other tackle was one-on-one with Julian," said Maxie. "We talked the entire week that the inside move would be available and on the first play of the game, Julian got off the ball and came inside. It was supposed to be a very quick pass, but he got inside so quickly that there was nothing the quarterback could do. By the time Julian hit the quarterback, I came off my edge.
"Julian made sure he could still contain the quarterback," Maxie continued. "That little detail – knowing the tackle was going to overset and me staying around the edge –made that formula work and made that play happen. It's not anything mind blowing, but if you don't pay attention to detail, the play doesn't happen."
Hear from Davis Maxie about the play that was voted by fans as @LehighSports Play of the Year! It was quite the start to #Rivalry154 🏈 pic.twitter.com/ykXf0kJfDg
— Lehigh Sports (@LehighSports) July 8, 2019
Perseverance through Maxie's first two collegiate seasons allowed him to be in position to make such a big play. Just a year earlier, Maxie had zero collegiate games under his belt.
Instead of giving up, he wanted to prove people wrong even more.
"For a lot of people, I'm not supposed to be here," said Maxie. "The chips have always been stacked against me. There was never a moment when I was the guy who people put on the top of their prospect list or the person who would jump out of the crowd."
Despite not being highly ranked, Maxie has developed a strong niche on the field after not playing organized tackle football until his freshman year of high school. Over his tenure, he played plenty of offense (tight end/wide receiver) and defense (defensive end/linebacker/safety).
"By my senior year of high school, I was a utility player," said Maxie. "I played wherever the coaches thought was the best fit was for the team to be successful. During the spring, I was even a backup quarterback."
That versatility turned into a positive as Maxie entered college. The Mountain Hawk coaches saw plenty of potential in the Florida native.
"They saw me as not necessarily a project, but a blank sheet who they felt could be really effective and athletic coming off the edge," said Maxie.
Davis entered college embracing the "blank sheet" mindset.
In other words, he was open to learning.
"Coming in, I first wanted to figure out how things worked," said Maxie. "I wanted to figure out how every single guy did their day-to-day activities and how I could make our football schedule a part of me. Once I was able to get acclimated, I naturally started to grow not only as a football player, but also as a person. As things started translating in my life, they started translating on the field as well.
As Maxie continued, "I developed a bit of fire towards the end of my sophomore year because there were opportunities in the lineup and I had to stay ready in case my number was called. Sophomore spring ultimately set me up for playing my junior year."
Even though all of Maxie's collegiate games played has come as a junior and senior, he has made a lot happen in his opportunities. Two of the program's biggest plays in recent memory – the Lafayette fumble return last year and viral hit on the Saint Francis (Pa.) punter this season – included Maxie.
After the SFU punter muffs the ball, Davis Maxie absolutely lays him out and Sam McCloskey runs it all the way back for the touchdown. Lehigh out in front, 10-0 with 1:35 to play in Q1. Watch: https://t.co/XQHmR4a1zr. #GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/wY919J7gY0
— Lehigh Football (@LehighFootball) August 31, 2019
It's no coincidence a detail-oriented engineering major would find himself in the middle of so many big plays.
"Davis is very conscientious in his preparations," said Gilmore. "Whenever he's on the field, there's always that potential for a big play to happen. From a practice standpoint, he works really hard at what we're doing. He's had a knack of making big plays."
Maxie has made big plays from a number of defensive positions and even on special teams. He has played a hybrid defensive end/linebacker position.
"Davis is very athletic," said Gilmore. "As a defensive end, he's much more athletic than your typical defensive end at this level. He probably does have the skills to be a linebacker and has played a bit in that capacity, too."
As Maxie said, "The hybrid position matches my strengths."
Another strength for Maxie is in mechanical engineering.
"Growing up, I never really had a name for engineering. I couldn't point it out as something I wanted to do, but I always knew I had a good connection to numbers and math," he said. "I wasn't building a laptop from bottom up, but I was the person who was building with their Legos and Lincoln Logs. It always drove me, then I realized I could do it for the good of others in the form of a service or product.
"I realized making a difference through my creations was a true possibility," Maxie continued. "Seeing mechanical engineering could present that opportunity sparked my interest."
Maxie gained valuable workplace experience this past summer, interning with the STRAX Intelligence Group in his hometown of Boca Raton, Florida.
"It's a company which creates its own software and products to help with security," he said. "They work with local police departments to help security for large crowds and public situations. I didn't know much about what I'd be doing until I got there. While there, I realized how such a big idea can be brought down to small details."
Details are everywhere – in the classroom, on the football field and in everyday life.
"I've seen how details affect me in my mechanical engineering life, and I've been able to translate that focus and importance onto the football field," said Maxie. "Being detail oriented is very important, especially with the kind of operation we run. Team defense is one of the hardest things to do at any level. It requires a lot of specific focus from everybody… and details."
They're details that made last year's strip sack and fumble return happen.
"Who could ever forget Davis' amazing ball security running down the field," said senior Juwan Morrow. "On top of one of the best ways to start a rivalry game, I can't see this moment fading anytime soon."
Details have also helped the Mountain Hawks' defense take a big step forward in 2019.
"The general idea of everybody's job is so broad and basic; you can break it down into a couple words," said Maxie. "But at the end of the day, the specific details on our reads and our reactions to the guys across the line are the differences between an okay, good and championship defense. The coaches harp on details because the only way we can be great is if we attack those details every single day."
What big moment will happen in Saturday's installment of The Rivalry because of attention to detail?
Only time will tell.
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