Gray wants Davis ready as a freshman: Florida Gators recruiting

Saturday afternoon in the Swamp was a rainy day but several members of the Florida Gators recruiting class of 2017 were still in attendance in the Swamp.

It was a good game to be at if you were a defensive back and that’s exactly what defensive back commit Shawn Davis (6-1, 195, Miami, FL. Southridge) enjoyed about his visit to Florida.

“It was an exciting visit for me,” Davis said of his visit to Florida. “Seeing the two corners that I look up to at the school that I’m going to be going to catch two picks was great. It was two pick sixes too.”

Davis paid close attention to Quincy Wilson and Jalen Tabor but he likes how all of the Gators defensive backs play.

“Their style, I like their style of play,” he said of the Gators cornerbacks. “They play with a lot of aggression and I like how they play at corner. I think I can learn from those guys.”

Defensive backs coach Torrian Gray has been a key part of Davis’ recruitment and he wants the corner ready to play next year.

“Coach Gray says with those guys leaving [Tabor and Wilson], we need some guys coming in that have dog in them,” Davis said of Gray’s message to him. “He said to be like them and come in and work like them so we can continue DBU at Florida.”

Head coach Jim McElwain hasn’t stopped recruiting Davis despite his commitment to Florida and he continues with one message to the commit.

“I talk to Coach Mac often still,” he said of McElwain. “He said that he’s happy to have me here and happy that I’m becoming a Gator. He said he can’t wait for me to work in the Swamp.”

Despite several schools trying to flip Davis, the cornerback says he remains solid in his pledge to Florida.

“Everything is still the same with Florida,” Davis said of his commitment to Florida. “They still hit me up every day and talking to me. They keep me up to date on the season and everything.”

Davis does still however plan to take some trips but those will likely be just free trips for the cornerback.

“Right now I don’t really have any visits planned,” he said. “I plan on visiting some of the far schools that aren’t close to Miami that I haven’t been to yet. Those are my officials.”

 

INSIDERS TAKE: Davis is a strong commitment to Florida and the Gators are getting a good one. Davis is in contact with Florida a lot and is also recruiting other guys to join him in Gainesville.

Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.