I have been trying to keep everyone up to date on the number of commitments we've had by saying "Player A Becomes 17th Commit" or whatever, but with all the uncertainty around which commits are still, well, committed, I'll just stick with this headline for the time being.
According to Rivals, Feddie Davey committed to the Washington State Cougars two nights ago. First, yes, his name is Feddie, not Freddie. I thought it was a typo, too. Second, he played LB until his senior year, so he's fairly new to the coverage aspect of defensive back. He's a prototypical safety in terms of stopping the run, blitzing, and absolutely blowing up the ball carrier. Basically, he's a perfect fit for the GATA defense. "Oh, damn, you beat me in coverage? It's ok, my offense is going to score in like, 10 seconds, and then I'm going to blitz until I rip your face off."
The first tape is his senior film as a safety. You can see he's learning on the fly a lot, but holy cow does he bring the wood. I included the junior film as well, because I feel like the first clip is more of him getting adjusted to the secondary.
At 5'11 and 190 pounds, Davey has a good frame to add another 10-15 pounds. His video lists him at 198 and says he runs a 4.46 in the 40, but I remain skeptical of the latter. I think he's probably closer to 190, but it's not a huge deal either way. He'll hit the weights in Pullman and probably wind up over 200.
I see speed here, but I don't see blazing, unbelievable speed. I think he's a very interesting player, and if we're going to start getting kids from Miami, I'm 100% on board. Davey was quoted as saying:
"Coach Leach told me that they are going to try and bring in guys from down this way, from Miami," Davey said. "They want guys on the team that are winners, that know what it takes to win. They want guys with the mindset and heart to win."
So while we joke about a Florida Pipeline -- no, it's not going to happen -- holy crap, it's totally happening! Pants off everyone! First Texas, then Florida, then Vermont!
Finally, Davey is an interesting story from a personal standpoint. He expects his first child next month, and it will be interesting to see if they come up with him or not. I also wouldn't be surprised if something happened last minute and he decided to play at Florida Atlantic or somewhere closer to home.
Overall, not a bad get. It's a little concerning when a player in such a hotbed of football recruiting isn't offered by anyone, but that doesn't necessarily mean he isn't good. The transition from linebacker to safety may have had a hand in that, and the kid started all four years in high school. I'm on board with taking a flyer on a big hitting safety from Miami.
In other recruiting news, RBs CJ Brathwaite and Theron West are listed as "Soft Verbals" by Scout. Brathwaite apparently picked up an offer from Arizona State, and West moved to "Soft" pretty much as soon as Leach was hired. It's also worth noting that JC National Letter of Intent Signing Day is today, and West hasn't inked with us or anyone else just yet. When we find out more, we'll let you know.
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