This one will be exclusively about Marquise Davis and his commitment to Kentucky.
Right after the late signing period for the previous class back in February it became very clear that Kentucky had zeroed in on Davis as a top tier priority. I thought he might even be the first running back to hop on board for Kentucky. They were recruiting some other backs like Bo Jackson, and Isaiah West committed first, but you knew very early on that Davis was a guy that Kentucky felt great about.
There was a lot of talk about Michigan late but I didn't change the pick for good reason. My understanding is it was really Davis' last visit to Kentucky that finally clinched it for them.
One person told me Davis was asked if he thought about Michigan or Ohio State while he was visiting Kentucky. The answer was no. Did he think about Kentucky while he was at Michigan? Yes. Nonetheless, Michigan and Ohio State brought their offensive staffs to check in on Davis later in the process before his decision so the interest was clearly still strong, thus not a deal where some schools moved on. I was told that the running back coaches at Michigan and Ohio State each called about or more than 30 times, so very strong interest.
Georgia tried to come in and get him to take an official visit this summer. In the end, believe Davis was very close to committing to Kentucky around the Cats' spring game but his parents wanted him to hold off. They were completely on board with Kentucky as a landing spot but wanted him to make sure he was sure and thus to see Michigan one more time. However, I do believe and did believe that the confidence on the Michigan side was always a bit erroneous. Sometimes those brand programs (their coaches, media, etc) have an assumption that a kid is going to be swayed easily by the brand/helmet and that did not happen.
Davis recently ran in the 4.4 second range at one of the camps he attended.
Right after the late signing period for the previous class back in February it became very clear that Kentucky had zeroed in on Davis as a top tier priority. I thought he might even be the first running back to hop on board for Kentucky. They were recruiting some other backs like Bo Jackson, and Isaiah West committed first, but you knew very early on that Davis was a guy that Kentucky felt great about.
There was a lot of talk about Michigan late but I didn't change the pick for good reason. My understanding is it was really Davis' last visit to Kentucky that finally clinched it for them.
One person told me Davis was asked if he thought about Michigan or Ohio State while he was visiting Kentucky. The answer was no. Did he think about Kentucky while he was at Michigan? Yes. Nonetheless, Michigan and Ohio State brought their offensive staffs to check in on Davis later in the process before his decision so the interest was clearly still strong, thus not a deal where some schools moved on. I was told that the running back coaches at Michigan and Ohio State each called about or more than 30 times, so very strong interest.
Georgia tried to come in and get him to take an official visit this summer. In the end, believe Davis was very close to committing to Kentucky around the Cats' spring game but his parents wanted him to hold off. They were completely on board with Kentucky as a landing spot but wanted him to make sure he was sure and thus to see Michigan one more time. However, I do believe and did believe that the confidence on the Michigan side was always a bit erroneous. Sometimes those brand programs (their coaches, media, etc) have an assumption that a kid is going to be swayed easily by the brand/helmet and that did not happen.
Davis recently ran in the 4.4 second range at one of the camps he attended.
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