Davis explains 'elite experience' at Minnesota, commitment
Ben Davis gave Minnesota much-needed offensive line depth today when he committed to the Gophers after visiting this weekend. He chose the Gophers over offers from Nevada-Reno and Old Dominion, and had also been in regular contact with Cincinnati and Texas Tech. Davis is a “four to play three” 2017 JUCO prospect.
“I committed Saturday night going into an elite dinner with the coaching staff. My tour of the campus was unbelievable. It was beautiful. I got to meet a lot of great people and see the people that are going to form the extraordinary man that I’m going to be in the future and the amazing football player that I’m going to be in the future,” he told The Gopher Report.
Davis was lightly recruited in high school, so he opted for American River C.C., a northern California junior college, despite being a full qualifier out of high school.
“I was just ready to grind and ready to get out,” he said about his junior college experience. “Great coaches helped me get to where I am today.”
He added that he’ll come to Minnesota with “not a chip, a crack” on his shoulder, echoing a phrase PJ Fleck has repeated before.
Davis tells TGR that he “fell in love” with Minnesota on his visit.
“I arrived Friday afternoon. I was met by Coach Schaekel and he did a great job of showing me around. It was unbelievable; the weekend was unbelievable. We went to the Mall of America first. Came back, went to my hotel room and went to dinner with the coaching staff. I met Coach Fleck as well on Friday. On Saturday, I went to the scrimmage and got to tour the whole TCF Bank Stadium which was elite. I got to try on all the jerseys. The whole weekend was an elite experience.”
Prior to the visit, Davis had heard from offensive line coach Ed Warinner, graduate assistant offensive line coach Keli’ikuewa Kekuewa, and assistant recruiting coordinator John Schaekel. He says the coaching staff is what made Minnesota the best place for him and not hold out for more options.
“Coach Fleck is unreal,” he said. “Being in the presence of him is just, it’s just an unbelievable experience. And then Coach Warinner, both of their resumes are just kind of hard to refuse, ya know? The energy was unbelievable; that’s what I loved about (the coaches), as well.”
What are his goals for his time at Minnesota? Davis is putting academics as his top priority. He plans to study a business field or criminology.
“My goal is to get a master’s degree. With the excellent resources they have there, it’s kind of hard to fail. If I work hard and keep on doing what I’m doing, I’ll become the extraordinary man I’m trying to be.”
Move-in day for the tackle is May 22 in time for summer classes.
