‘It felt like the right fit.’ CB Jeffrey Davis Jr. explains his commitment to Penn State football
Penn State football stayed hot on the recruiting trail, picking up its sixth commitment in the past month on Friday night.
Three-star cornerback Jeffrey Davis Jr. announced his commitment to Penn State head coach James Franklin and the Nittany Lions’ 2021 recruiting class via his personal Twitter account.
Davis, who plays for Kingswood-Oxford School in West Hartford, Connecticut, announced his top eight Sunday and included the Nittany Lions alongside power-five football programs such as Michigan and Tennessee, as well as academic powers like Princeton and Yale.
Penn State had been a dream school “for a long time” for Davis. He visited the University Park campus four times before making his decision and fell in love with the family atmosphere. The cornerback felt like it was the right fit ever since he visited Happy Valley for the Indiana game in November, when he received a scholarship offer.
“I sat down with Coach Franklin and it just felt like a family atmosphere for my family and I,” Davis told the Centre Daily Times. “It felt like the right fit for me.”
Davis, who was recruited by Franklin and Penn State cornerbacks coach Terry Smith, is currently ranked as the No. 39 cornerback in the country according to the 247Sports Composite rankings and the No. 2 player in the state of Connecticut. He expects to play cornerback but has the versatility to line up at safety as well.
“They see me as a cornerback and safety hybrid,” Davis said. “(It’s about) finding the best fit for me, whether it’s cornerback or safety. Right now it’s cornerback, but they see me as both.”
The high school junior called his speed his biggest asset but prides himself on his ability to be coached and his willingness to mix it up in the run game.
His addition to the class brings it to eight total players, with half projected to play in the secondary. The Nittany Lions moved up one spot in the Big Ten team rankings for the 2021 class to No. 6 and three spots to No. 14 in the overall team rankings for the class, according to the 247Sports Composite team rankings.
Davis is hopeful he and the rest of the 2021 class will walk away with the ultimate prize.
“A national championship is the goal,” he said. “(I want to) do the best I can to contribute in the best possible way.”
This story was originally published April 17, 2020 at 5:01 PM.
