RECRUITING: Torrey Davis commits to Gators

He is the highest rated defensive lineman in the state of Florida and the number two defensive tackle in the country according to Scout.com. Seffner Armwood’s Torrey Davis is an unblockable inside defender with size (6-4, 285) and ridiculous speed to make life miserable for opponents. After making Chamberlain miserable Friday night, he made Florida Gator fans very happy.

After spending his night disrupting the Chamberlain Chiefs — “I had two sacks and maybe ten tackles,” he said. I only played about three quarters” — Davis decided to put an end to the constant ebb and flow of the recruiting wars. With television crews and reporters on hand to record the moment, Davis picked the Gators over the Florida State Seminoles

“I committed to Florida,” Davis said. “It was always out of Florida and Florida State. I am happy with my choice and I and my coach talked it over.

“I always liked Florida and they are coming up in their class rankings. I want to be a contributor. I am not looking to play my first year. I want to make a name for myself with the Gators.”

The commitment comes on the heels of a whirlwind month for Davis where he supposedly committed to Florida State. That was followed by denial from Davis and the coaches at Armwood that he committed to FSU. On the heels of the denial, he traveled to Gainesville to see the University of Florida and the Gators’ Friday Night Lights camp. Davis enjoyed the competition and the chance to meet with the Florida coaches. The night in Gainesville definitely helped in his decision-making process.

While his decision to be a Gator may seem controversial to rival fans, Davis knows he didn’t tell anyone at FSU he was going to go to be a Seminole.

“No, I never committed to Florida State,” he said. “My coach was telling me that FSU may be the best place for me to go right then. He told someone at FSU that they were number one at the time. Then they told people I was committed so no one else would talk to me.”

Now that he has made his decision to be a Gator, he says he will concentrate on putting together a great senior season for the Armwood Hawks, one of the perennial high school football powers in the state of Florida. He knows that to have the kind of senior year he wants, he has to put in the time on both the practice field and the classroom. The competition on the field and academically at the next level will be tough so he has to do his best to prepare.

“It is going to be a challenge,” he said. “I am going to do things I have never done before. The thing about Florida is it is a great academic school. I am not afraid of it. Nothing comes easy and I understand that. We have the good part of playing football, but there is the other part I have to handle and that is going to school.”

On that note his classroom woes of the past seem to be tempered tremendously by a good summer session of classes. It is just the start of what he knows will be a string of strong semesters in the classroom.

“I had to take a few classes over the summer to get back on track,” he said. “The way I was headed I was going to prep school and I don’t want to do that. I passed all of my classes with B’s and they said my GPA went up a lot.”

Davis has grown up an adapter. He is like a chameleon. He sees he needs to improve his grades and he works hard to do that. On the football field he also watches other players to see what makes them good. The next time he is in a game, he may pull out a move no one ever saw before from him.

“I don’t play like anyone,” he said. “We had a kid like Leslie Stirrups and John Brown, I watch them and see their skills and see what is working. If it is working I try it. I don’t play like anyone specific. I have my own skills that I develop.”

Torrey Davis is a big time addition to the Florida Gator recruiting class. The Gators will be losing five linemen, all of them most likely to the NFL. Davis knows that starting jobs aren’t guaranteed, that he’ll have to earn his playing time but he’s ready to do everything he can to ensure that he’ll be taking the field wearing the orange and blue in 2007.