Four-star running back prospect Mike Davis once said Florida’s biggest ailment on the field was its need for “bigger backs.”
Now, the Gators need to find one more.
Davis, at 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds, would have been a much-needed ballcarrier at UF in the wake of the departures of seniors Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps. But after being orally committed to Florida since Feb. 19, Davis decommitted Sunday night.
Last Tuesday, tight ends coach Derek Lewis made an in-home visit to Davis in Stone Mountain, Ga. Davis said the meeting had gone “well,” and his decision to decommit had nothing to do with the visit, but “it was just something I noticed the next day.”
Citing a “misunderstanding” with coaches as the reason he chose to reopen his recruitment, Davis would not elaborate on the altercation. On his Twitter he posted: “It’s funny when you look a coach in the eye [and] see right through the B.S. dey be feedin you.”
“Nothing really happened,” he said. “I can’t say because I don’t bash on coaches, but it was just a misunderstanding with me and the coaches.
“It wasn’t anything bad at all, it was just a misunderstanding with some things said and that happened. … There wasn’t nothing that sparked it. The thing that happened wasn’t supposed to happen.”
After he informed the Florida staff of his decision Monday, Davis said it emphasized to him that the opportunity to play in Gainesville was still available if he ever changed his mind.
Now on his radar are Tennessee, South Carolina, Miami and Florida State.
“Some things might happen,” he said, indicating UF may still be in consideration.
Davis took his first official visit on Friday to Tennessee, and will be in Tallahassee on Dec. 16 for an official visit to Florida State. He also said he is arranging plans for an official visit to South Carolina in the near future.
Davis’ decommitment leaves the Gators with a single running back scheduled to sign on National Signing Day — four-star prospect Matt Jones of Seffner Armwood High — and 16 total commitments.
However, at the top of Florida’s wish list has been running back Keith Marshall of Raleigh (N.C.) Millbrook High, the nation’s No. 1 back, according to Rivals.com. With his commitment set for this afternoon, Marshall will pick between UF and Georgia, among others, and possibly negate Florida’s fears of poor depth at running back.
Oral commitments are non-binding until a national letter of intent is signed on or after National Signing Day on Feb. 1, 2012.
