Somehow, it turned into something of an Ernie Davis day. It happens.

Brian Bennett over at ESPN wrote up a piece on Syracuse safety Phillip Thomas and his propensity for on-field chatter. In the article, Bennett explains how a highly-touted kid from Miami ends up playing football in Central New York.

Thomas said when he was a senior at Miami's Edison High School, he went to see the movie "The Express," which chronicled former Syracuse running back Ernie Davis' life. Just days after he saw the film, Syracuse defensive coordinator Scott Shafer came to Edison on a recruiting trip. Thomas took that as a sign and committed to the Orange, staying firm as his hometown Hurricanes made a last-minute offer.

Even now, years later, Ernie Davis is convincing kids to play football at Syracuse.

#SHAMARKO may get all the gory (Ed. Note - typo? Maybe, maybe not) and Twitter love, but Phillip is certainly the louder Thomas.

"I try to keep everybody up and make sure they smile and have fun," Thomas said. "No downers, just uppers."

Everybody keep taking those uppers. I mean, no, don't...you know what I mean.