And that's just fine with head coach Cal Lee.

"James is a blue-collar worker, doesn't say much which I like," Lee said. "I want guys that come out here and play. They don't have to talk very much. He's as quiet as can be. He's even quieter than I am and that says a lot."

Davis, who is 6 feet 2 and 320 pounds, is one of nine Islanders to play in all six games this season. He'll be on the field once again tomorrow night when the Islanders (4-2) host the Central Valley (Fresno, Calif.) Coyotes (1-5). Kickoff for the arenafootball2 game is set for 6:30 at Blaisdell Arena.

Lee says Davis is the best technical blocker among the offensive linemen.

"It's a good compliment coming from a great coach," said Davis. "He knows a lot about football and is on top of his game."

He said he drove 2 1/2 hours to get from his hometown of Middletown, N.Y., to the Dragons' afternoon practices at the Nassau Coliseum. After practice, he walked across the street to take night classes at Hofstra, where he played football from 1998-2002.

"I was trying to finish it up while I was with New York, but I got (released)," Davis said. "I came down here and put my MBA on hold."

When he arrived for Islanders' practices he was a bit overwhelmed by the amount of conditioning the team did.

"I was in arena1 and they didn't do any running, so it was a big challenge," Davis said. "We do more running here than they did in a month there. Everybody does conditioning on their own (in af1). If you're not in shape, they'll just cut you."

Davis, who has an undergraduate degree in painting, plans to return to Hofstra and complete his MBA after the Islanders' season.

"I'm happy for him because he knows football may not be his career in the far future," Lee said. "Anybody that works on their master's and playing this, to me, has good balance in his life. He has physical activity and mental activity as well."