Among my duties here at Dawg Sports* is the task of covering college football recruiting in the least creepy manner possible. I fulfill that obligation via the Too Much Information series, in which I provide you with entirely too much information about a prospect who may (or may not) ultimately don the red and black to play 'tween the hedges in Athens.
This installment concerns Thomson High School tight end Jordan Davis, who recently verbally committed to play for the Classic City Canines. Learn more about him after the jump.
The Basics
Davis is listed on most recruiting sites in the range of 6'4 and 220 pounds. I understand that he actually got a good bit bigger between his sophomore and junior seasons, and the consensus seems to be that he will likely get a little bigger still. Looking at his frame, something along the lines of 6'4, 240 seems about right.
Jordan chose the 'Dawgs over an offer from Florida, which is always nice. He was also pursued by South Carolina, North Carolina State, and Louisville. That's not exactly a who's who of gridiron royalty, and Davis is not one of those players who everybody was recruiting. Nevertheless, I think the young man from McDuffie County is a solid pickup, for reasons discussed below.
The Tale of the Tape
Film from Davis's junior season:
A few observations. For one Davis looks more like a tight end than a wide receiver lined up on the line. With the advent of spread offenses throughout Georgia high school football these last few years it's getting harder and harder to find true tight ends, guys who can both run block and get out into space and get open. At the 1:23 mark for example we see Davis get open in the endzone and make a nice catch in traffic.
On the receptions we see in this film Davis lets the ball get into his body more than I would like. He gets off the line of scrimmage with good speed, but there's really not a large enough sample size here for me to judge Davis's route running. Coming from the Thomson program I would expect Davis to be able to run block, and the video doesn't disappoint on that account. Davis does a good job of keeping his feet while run blocking, and seems to have decent pad level. There's even one play on which he lines up at tight end and pulls around to the weak side to lead block. I could easily see Davis taking on the role we saw Bruce Figgins used in this season, as a combination tight end/fullback.
Despite the above, Davis received his offer to play in Athens after his performance at this summer's Mark Richt Camp, after Florida and South Carolina had both already offered scholarships. I glean from this that Jordan did something more to impress the coaches at that camp. If I'm being honest, this film in and of itself doesn't look offer- worthy. If you compare it to high school tape of Orson Charles or Aron White or Jay Rome, it's downright pedestrian. I can see the physical tools, though. The kid seems to have the size and explosion necessary to play tight end in the SEC. I assume the coaches saw this up close at the Mark Richt Camp and jumped on him. Given the success we've had at the position, both with highly recruited kids and sleepers, that's enough for me.
In the long term, Davis fills a hole in the depth chart which was making me a little nervous, one which Coach Lilly appears to have discussed with Davis on his most recent visit to the Classic City. When he arrives in 2013 Artie Lynch will be a senior, Jay Rome will be a redshirt sophomore, and Ty Smith will be either a sophomore or redshirt freshman. While none of those guys is really a proven commodity, there's every reason to believe that Rome will be in a position to leave after 2013 or 2014. Smith is a smaller TE, more in the Orson Charles mold, meaning we're going to need a big guy to help seal the edge and get a push on the goalline and in short yardage. I'm hoping Jordan Davis can be that guy. It's unlikely that the 'Dawgs will take another tight end in this class, especially since the coaches are already working on a couple of promising 2014 tight ends. Davis isn't the top tight end in the country, but he's a guy with tons of upside who we won't need to play in 2013, from a traditionally powerful program which we need to maintain a strong relationship with. Congrats, Jordan. We're looking forward to seeing you make your mark in Athens. Until later . . .
Go 'Dawgs!!!
* Fun fact: the others are making the avocado dip for staff meetings, making sure vineyarddawg has enough brown paper bags for leaving presents on Will Muschamp's doorstep (he hates Florida, you see), and making sure that Kyle knows when a new Kristen Davis movie comes out. You have to know your role.