(Photo by Derek Young/Scout.com)
Lost in the cold, rainy loss last night against Mississippi State, the Missouri coaches received some positive news from Hogan Prep junior RB DaRon Davis. Davis apparently enjoyed himself enough to pledge to the Tigers, making him the first commit of the 2017 class.
Listed between 6-foot-1 and 6-foot-2, 190 pounds Davis is projected to play receiver at the next level. Rivals.com lists him as the number three player in the state of Missouri behind Chester Graves and Jaevon McQuitty.
He hasn’t put together a complete junior film yet, but on just his sophomore film alone he looks like a menace when he has his hands on the football. He has very good speed for his size, and he can shrug off a one-on-one tackler with ease.
According to his HUDL film, Davis had 1,502 yards and 22 touchdowns his sophomore year, so I assume he has either replicated those numbers or improved this past season.
Davis would be a good college running back, but given the two running backs for the 2016 class (Natereace Strong, Darius Anderson) and only Russell Hansbrough leaving this year, he may not get enough touches out of the backfield.
Instead of getting lost in the shuffle at running back, it was smart of the coaching staff to get him into the mix at receiver, where they are in dire need of playmakers.
Wesley Leftwich graduates this year, and no one else leaves after next year (barring dismissals or someone plays well enough to leave early) but you can’t have enough good receivers.
It’ll be awhile before he steps on campus, and a lot can happen between now and then.
Missouri could have some attrition and that could cause him to play running back, or Davis has an even better senior campaign causing some bigger schools to recruit him.
Regardless, this is good news to a coaching staff that can really use some in the midst of a four game losing streak.
The 2016 recruiting class isn’t complete yet for the Tigers, but 2017 is off to a great start.
