Dematrius Davis might not be the highest-rated recruit Auburn signed Wednesday, but he might be the most important.
If Davis hadn’t signed after Auburn fired Gus Malzahn, Auburn would have had to go find another quarterback. “Finding another quarterback” is not quite as easy to do at such late notice as it is to find athletes who play other positions. Usually, quarterbacks go off the board early.
“They pick a lane pretty early,” Auburn interim coach Kevin Steele said. “So, had he chose not to sign or flip and to go somewhere else, then you would have had to flip somebody, basically. There’s not guys out there that are just uncommitted at that position at the SEC level to go get.”
As of Thursday, the day after the signing period started, only seven of the top 100 quarterbacks in the class of 2021 had not signed with a team, according to 247Sports. All of them were three stars, with the highest-rated one coming in at No. 34, 12 spots below Davis, who is ranked No. 22 in his class.
“So for him to do what he did was huge,” Steele said.
Pretty much as soon as the news broke about Malzahn, the Auburn coaching staff grabbed their phones and started calling recruits. Because they knew that if they weren’t the ones talking to their commits, coaches from other schools would be.
Offensive coordinator Chad Morris has the strongest ties to Texas after years of coaching high school there. He led the way on Davis’s recruitment, especially since Davis is an offensive player. Steele said Morris did a “great job” in convincing Davis to stay with the Tigers.
Davis didn’t take long to convince. The day after Auburn fired Malzahn, Davis tweeted out a message reaffirming his commitment to Auburn.
And when it came time to sign, Davis was the second player to send in his National Letter of Intent. If not for the time change, Davis would have gotten his letter in at the same time as Garner Langlo, the first signee, who signed at 8 Eastern Time but 7 Central Time.
Auburn is excited about Davis for more than his ability to fill the quarterback position in the 2021 signing class. Auburn’s also excited about the type of athlete he is and the attitude he’ll bring to the team.
As Auburn’s defensive coordinator, Steele didn’t know much about many of the offensive recruits, especially since none of them were in his recruiting area. He spent Sunday night watching film so that he’d know who he was calling. He came away from watching Davis’s tapes impressed.
Steele had a whole list of positive attributes he noticed in Davis. He said he’s athletic. He has an arm that’s both strong and accurate. He really has the ability to beat defenses with his arms or his legs, which is why he’s the eighth-best dual threat quarterback in the class. Davis threw 30 touchdown passes and ran in 21 touchdowns in 2019.
Steele also noticed Davis is extremely competitive, and he knows what it takes to win. The fact that he’s playing for his third Texas state championship in three years is proof of that winning mentality.
“In the state of Texas, that’s hard to do,” Steele said.
At 5-foot-10, Davis is small for a quarterback. That’s one of the reasons he appreciated Auburn’s coaching staff taking an interest in him, as he shared in a tweet Sunday.
But 247Sports’ analysts saw that he made the most of his physical attributes and paired them with intangibles. The scouting report described him as creative. It said he showed improvement each year, despite playing elite-level competition, and he is a clear on-field leader. Davis scored a nine out of 10 for intangibles in the report. Clearly Auburn appreciated those intangibles, as well.
When Davis joins the Tigers, he will be one of six quarterbacks on the roster. He will be the highest-rated quarterback behind current starter Bo Nix. With Malzahn out, Morris may also be gone. A new offense and new coaches could open up the quarterback competition. Whether or not there is a competition, Davis will at the very least provide Auburn with another competitive option if Nix gets hurt.
Related articles:
Auburn signs another solid defensive line class to help replace graduating starters
What’s left for Auburn’s next coach to address with 2021 recruiting class?
