Davis, Blue Devils feel recruiting love

Devron Davis is coming off a pretty good week.

The Merced College sophomore cornerback received a scholarship offer from South Carolina on June 8. Oklahoma followed with an offer the next day, and Nebraska the day after that.

It’s been that kind of offseason for the former Merced High and Golden Valley product. According to 247Sports, Davis has official offers from 14 different Division I programs and MC head coach Bob Casey said he’s entertaining around 30 total offers from four-year schools.

Perhaps most impressive is the fact that Davis hasn’t even garnered the most attention on the MC campus. According to Casey, that distinction belongs to defensive tackle Kamilo Tongamoa, whose offers range in the high 30s. With Division I offers to seven players already and a few more likely on the way, the Blue Devils’ class of 2016 is garnering attention at a level the school hasn’t seen in the last decade, and certainly not during Casey’s four-year tenure.

“It’s definitely been a crazy spring and start to the summer,” Casey said. “We’ve had so many coaches come through here the last few months. Our spring practice was like a scene straight out of ‘The Blindside.’ There were a handful of coaches and recruiters there pretty much every day.

“I’m not really on any of the social media sites, so sometimes it’s hard to keep track of who has been offered where as they happen. Sometimes I won’t hear about it until a day or two later, but it’s been a lot of fun for the program to get this kind of notoriety.”

Davis and Tongamoa have been the heavily sought-after prizes so far, but the attention they’ve received has helped open doors for several teammates as well.

Guys like safety Earl Chambers, running back Josh Stevens, left tackle XzavierMcCallister and center Ty Allen have received offers while a handful more are fully entrenched on teams’ radars.

“We’ve had so many guys that were on the fringe of being D1 guys that got offers because the teams were in looking at someone else,” Casey said. “The best thing about all of this happening so early is it gives these guys something to look forward to at the end. They know what they have to lose now, and that there’s less room for error, so it’ll keep them motivated on the field and in the classroom.”

Davis acknowledged that the last few months have been a bit of a whirlwind, but one he’s enjoyed.

“Once Louisville and Arkansas State offered, the interest in me seemed to skyrocket,” Davis said. “Between keeping track of who has made what offers and all the different schools I’m talking to, it has been a little overwhelming at times, but in a good way. I always believed that my speed and playmaking ability would translate at the next level, but it’s nice to see other people see it as well.

“The best part about all of this is it’s one less thing to worry about going in to next year. Knowing we already have offers frees us up to just go out and play and enjoy ourselves.”

This story was originally published June 17, 2015 at 6:02 PM with the headline "Davis, Blue Devils feel recruiting love."