2021 S Derrick Davis Impressed With Notre Dame and Will Be Back

2021 Gateway (Pa.) safety Derrick Davis‍ was impressive at Sunday’s Opening regional in Ohio, but it wasn’t a surprise to those who had been following him. 

The 6-foot, 176-pounder already holds offers from Baylor, Boston College, Cincinnati, Duke, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Wisconsin to name just a few. 

Davis was at Notre Dame last month and found out a lot about the school, which left him very impressed with the Irish program.

“I got a lot out of it,” stated Davis. “I was able to see the campus, the people and what the education was like at Notre Dame. I got to see what the coaches were like and all of them have been in the league. They want their players to get to the league, but they want you to graduate as well.” 

Like every top recruit, the NFL is the goal for Davis and Notre Dame’s NFL success was attractive to him. However, the chance to graduate from Notre Dame hit home and turned out to be Davis’ most significant takeaway from the visit. 

“For me, they all have one goal and that’s to get you to the NFL,” explained Davis. “What I liked about Notre Dame is they want you to graduate. For my family, that’s big. They want me to succeed at what I do, but they want me to finish school so I can do what I want to do after football. They care about after football.” 

Defensive coordinator Clark Lea also made a positive impression on Davis during the visit. 

“He was really cool,” said Davis. “He knows how to talk with the players and that’s one thing I liked about him. He’s really chill.” 

During the visit, Davis also met with Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly, who had a powerful message about academics. 

“What stuck out to me was Coach Kelly telling me they were No. 1 in graduating African-American players,” recalled Davis. “When he said that, it was like ‘Wow.’ 

“They had a list of other schools and I saw some schools who are recruiting me, but they weren’t graduating African-American players. He really told me the truth. They tell the truth at Notre Dame and I liked it.” 

As for a return trip to South Bend, Davis will likely be at Notre Dame in June with his high school team.

“I think we’re going up this summer for a 7-on-7 event with my school,” stated Davis. “If not, I’ll probably go to a game.” 

While Davis has a ton of offers, he isn’t close to narrowing things down at this point in his recruitment. 

“It’s too soon right now,” said Davis. “I don’t have any favorites. I’m trying to let everything happen and finish school.”