Syracuse Football Recruiting: Orange Land 3-Star Miami DE Keivonnis Davis

You know how things have gone lately... Since George McDonald's demotion from offensive coordinator, we've seen some 2015 decommits, which had us thinking about gloom and doom in Central New York. But apparently the negative vibes haven't yet gotten to Keivonnis Davis. The three-star defensive end from Miami committed to Syracuse today, which should be a nice boost to February's incoming class and overall morale about recruiting (when we need it most).

Per Scout's Syracuse site, CuseNation, looks like McDonald was an integral part of locking up the 225-pound, 6'4" end. He was a recent target, but apparently George and D-line coach Tim Daoust both loved his tapes and made an offer. From Davis's coach at Miami Central, Roland Smith:

"George McDonald, the wide receivers coach, does a great job with recruiting kids from South Florida. Keivonnis has a great relationship with coach McDonald. He (Davis) likes that he has the opportunity to play and start right away as a freshman. He likes the small college atmosphere with the small class sizes. He’s just very excited about being an Orange."

So on the bright side: Syracuse's academics are factoring in here, which is nice. On the other hand, yet another "great" relationship with McDonald lands us a recruit. It's a long recruiting season, so we'll have to hold our breath on a lot of these South Florida kids unfortunately to see if they've truly committed to Syracuse the school/program, or a coach on staff (McDonald) who is likely to leave. I (and you) obviously hope it's the former. And I guess a couple #disloyalidiots were wrong about George... for now.

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Smith mentions that while he's in the 225-230 pound range now, Davis will need to add another 25-30 pounds as a defensive end in the ACC (true). Davis understands that and the challenges at SU as well, and seems to be ready to face them all head on:

"My expectations are real high. I want to go in and be on top of my game with my classwork. I want to come in and contribute right away. I know they were in the Big East and now are in the ACC. Now they’re playing tougher teams, so it could be a big pedestal for me."

Keivonnis received other offers from West Virginia, South Florida, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati (hey, the whole Big East gang, back together!), so that's a nice chip for Syracuse beating out those similar programs despite them having better seasons at the moment. Davis is also the third defensive end for the Orange class of 2015, joining Brandon Ginnetti and Dana Levine.

Some tape of Keivonnis is included below. And a hearty congratulations from him on this decision. Looking forward to seeing him on National Signing Day, hopefully with an Orange hat upon his head.