MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times

Virginia Tech receiver Marcus Davis (7) gets instruction from Hokies quarterback Tyrod Taylor (5) during a summer scrimmage.

MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times

Virginia Tech receiver Marcus Davis (7) came to Blacksburg as a quarterback but switched positions to get more playing time.

BLACKSBURG -- The scene was three weeks ago today at Lane Stadium, site of Virginia Tech's annual football Media Day.

As Marcus Davis stood a few feet away, catching questions from a pair of reporters, cornerback Rashad Carmichael smiled as he pointed his finger towards the Hokies' redshirt sophomore flanker.

''See that guy right there?" asked Carmichael, his eyes widening. "You're talking about a freak, a physical freak, man! I'm telling you, corners are going to hate seeing that guy lined up against them. It's their worst nightmare."

Certainly, Davis brings a lot of strong tools to the work place.

Want size? He's 6-foot-4 and weighs 230 pounds. Want speed? He runs a 4.49-second 40-yard dash. Want leaping ability? His 43-inch vertical jump already is a Tech position record.

So what, if anything, is missing from Davis' toolbox? It used to be the hands. Well, from all reports, the big kid from Virginia Beach is suddenly grabbing footballs out of the air like his hands were made of Velcro.

All summer, Davis worked on securing his large mitts by catching 100 balls a day. Many of those balls were caught with tennis balls strapped to the palms of his hands.

''It helps you learn to catch the football with your fingertips, makes you concentrate, helps your hand-eye coordination," Davis said. "You've got to catch everything in the tips ... if not the ball is going to bounce off. It's really helped me. My hands are good."

In addition to the improved paws, Davis also has learned a lot more about playing the receiver position. He's spent hours learning how to correctly run his routes, how to cut more precisely and how to effectively block downfield.

"Marcus simply keeps getting better and better every day," Tech wide receivers coach Kevin Sherman said. "He's making plays and producing. He has come a long way. A guy that size, who can run like he can, he's special."

So much so that senior quarterback Tyrod Taylor told a large throng of media last month at the ACC Football Kickoff in Greensboro, N.C., that Davis was his pick to be the Tech offense's ''breakout player" this fall.

"It's real good to hear," the soft-spoken Davis responded. "I just stay content, I don't want to get too ahead of myself. I'm just coming out here and doing what I've got to do every day. I feel like I've taken my game to another level. We'll see."

Coming out of Ocean Lakes High, Davis began his Tech career as a quarterback. In hopes of getting Davis playing time quicker, the Hokies moved him to wide receiver, a position he also played in high school. But Davis hurt his right shoulder just four practices into the 2008 preseason camp and underwent surgery.

After taking a redshirt year, Davis was moved back to QB the next spring, only to be shipped back to wideout for the practice period's final week. He turned heads in Tech's 2009 spring game, catching three passes for 48 yards. He's been a permanent resident of Sherman's receiving corps since.

Although he caught only five passes for 125 yards last season -- including an 80-yard catch and run for his first college touchdown in Tech's 48-14 rout of Boston College -- Davis figures to get a lot more air time this fall despite the fact he's currently listed third behind juniors Danny Coale and Dyrell Roberts at split end.

''I'm so excited for Marcus," offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring said. "I think the way it started out for him ... shoulder injury, not healthy, switching positions, how tough can that be for any guy? Especially, a guy who's never really had a lot of setbacks in his athletic career.

"So now all of a sudden it's 'I'm hurt, I'm not playing, got an operation and a change of positions, I'm learning a position that's still new to me.' There's a lot that would have kept him from progressing. I think at times it may have.

"But to see the lights come on, and just to see the confidence level to start to meet the ability level, it's been a beautiful thing to experience."

Davis, whose quiet, humble attitude is in stark contrast to that of many wide receivers, said he's doesn't pay any attention to such talk. He doesn't buy into the hype machine, preferring to keep his mind on working hard and improving his skills each day.

"I just like to stay clam and do what I've got to do," Davis said. "Those guys who do all the talking, they're just bringing attention to themselves. We can't say this and that until we go out there and prove it. So all those people [are] telling us we're this and this, but we're nothing right now."

Now will happen sooner than later, claim those who have seen Davis work and mature the past two years.

''Athletically and physically, I don't think you can draw a better picture of a wide receiver," Coale said. "Marcus has got everything you need. He just hasn't had as many reps as the rest of us have. But you can see as the reps increase, his ability, we're starting to see that. He's becoming more and more comfortable."

Marcus Davis

Height: 6-4. Year: RS soph. 40 time: 4.49 seconds. Vertical jump: 43 inches. Career highlights:

n Switched from QB to receiver as a true freshman in 2008, but redshirted after missing the entire year due to a shoulder injury.

n First college reception was an 80-yard TD reception vs. Boston College in 2009.

n Finished the season with five catches for 125 yards.