What Jeremy Davis isn't doing indicates how well Alex Tejada is doing.

Tejada does very well, thank you, says Davis, both the Razorbacks' top punter and backup placekicker.

Davis, the fifth-year senior three-year letterman from Fort Smith Southside, says he isn't doing any extra placekicking this summer even with Arkansas sophomore star placekicker Tejada of Springdale on crutches earlier in June.

Tejada suffered a patella subluxation in the knee of his left leg (his plant leg ) while running on May 30.

" I'm strictly sticking to punting right now, " Davis said on June 24. " I think Alex will be healthy before the season so all that [placekicking ] will be up to him. "

So neither Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino nor special teams coach Kirk Botkin advised Davis to do extra summer placekicking once Tejada ailed.

" No, " Davis said. " I always kick a little bit just to be safe, but he'll be healthy and ready to go. Alex has been down there kicking a little bit. He's still got a brace on his knee but he's been down there. I don't have any doubt he'll be back and ready to go. "

Davis is glad of it for a variety of reasons.

The previous four years Davis spent his summers competing both for the punting and placekicking jobs.

With Tejada ensconced after claiming the placekicking post in the 2007 August preseason as a true freshman, Davis has been all punting nearly all the time other than just-incase rehearsals as Tejada's backup.

" Just a couple of kicks a day, " Davis said. " Just to be doing it so I won't lose it. He's really good at placekicking, and It's nice to focus on one thing. "

An all-purpose kicker at Southside, Davis walked on as a UA freshman in 2004 and midseason beat out suddenly struggling incumbent punter Jacob Skinner to be the punter the final six games. He averaged 39. 2 and placed six of his 25 punts inside the 20.

Texarkana, Texas native Skinner in 2005 recovered his punting brilliance for his final two seasons. His last campaigns ranked right up there with the punting bests of such past Razorback All-America punters as Steve Little and Bruce Lahay.

Davis redshirted in 2005. Like when Tejada won the placekicking job last summer, Davis in'05 said he gained by losing.

" The redshirt year was probably the best thing that could have happened to me, " Davis said. " I think I got a lot of confidence just watching Skinner. He was a good punter. He just struggled my freshman year a little bit. "

Watching even the best like Skinner falter underscored technique's importance to Davis.

" It's crazy, " Davis said. " One little, bitty thing can throw you off so much in kicking. He had just one little drop problem that he fixed and it was all better. "

Davis became the team's placekicker in 2006. He didn't fare particularly well, 6 of 13 on field goals after a 3 for 3 start, and became the punter on scholarship in 2007.

Naturally it was presumed with Davis' 2006 placekicking struggles and Tejada's mammoth kicking feats at Springdale High School that Tejada would easily win the placekicking post.

But Davis held his own much of the August preseason. He didn't give up placekicking without a fight until his foot defaulted.

" I had a stress reaction, " Davis said, " to something with a nerve in my foot. I was kicking too much on it anyway, so I really needed to focus on one. It turned out better I was doing one. "

Davis did pretty well as a punter in 2007, in one respect better than Skinner. He delivers quicker and never suffered a blocked punt.

Yet even while averaging 40 yards on 60 punts, with a long punt of 54 and placing 19 inside the 20, Davis says he has much to improve.

" I thought I had an all right year, " Davis said. " There is always room for improvement. I am looking for a better year. I need to improve a little bit on height and distance and to improve on my net punting and average. "

While it's decided Davis punts and Tejada placekicks, they still compete.

The kickoff job is wide open with Bentonville's Brian Vavra graduated after kicking off the past three years.

" Me and Tejada and Shay Haddock [a walk-on sophomore transfer from TCU ] have all been kicking off, " Davis said. " We really don't know who is going to do it yet. Anything I can do to help the team, I would love to do it. "

More than if he kicks off the season, Davis concerns with how he closes the campaign. He doesn't give himself rave reviews closing'06 as placekicker and closing'07 as the punter.

" It's kind of been my Achilles' heel that I have started off really well but haven't really finished a year. I'm looking forward to finishing this year, " Davis said.

Nate Allen covers University of Arkansas athletics for the Northwest Arkansas Times.