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In the end, it was John Davis' comfort level with the Red Raiders that led him to commit to the program earlier this month. The Euless Trinity cornerback had narrowed his list down to Texas Tech and Kansas State in late July, but ultimately decided to stay in-state thanks largely to his relationship with the team's coaches and players.
“First off, I just felt very comfortable there at Tech while I was on my visit," Davis said. "I took my visit to Kansas State, and I weighed my options and it just came down to how comfortable I felt around the (Texas Tech) coaching staff. The players I met there, too. Things like that. I just felt comfortable.”
The three-star prospect felt very strongly about the Red Raiders following his visit to Lubbock, but he wanted to check out the Wildcats in person before making his final decision. Shortly after returning home from Manhattan, Davis knew exactly where he wanted to be.
“A couple days after I got back from my Kansas State visit, I was like, 'This is it. I want to be a Red Raider,'" he said. "I told coach (Karl) Scott that I wasn’t going to make my decision until I went and saw Kansas State. I got back, weighed my options and then I realized that Tech was the place to be.”
Davis announced his decision on Monday, Aug. 1 but actually committed to the Texas Tech coaching staff the night before.
“Coach Scott told me to call him after my visit to Kansas State so that we could be on the same page,” Davis said. “By the end of the conversation, I told him that I wanted to commit to Texas Tech. Coach (Kliff) Kingsbury eventually got in contact with me and congratulated me and told me welcome to the family. Coach (David) Gibbs told me that I was their top guy, too. He was really excited.”
Since picking up an offer from the Red Raiders after the program's Trinity satellite camp in June, Davis has built a strong relationship with Scott and the rest of the team's coaching staff.
“Just talking to coach Scott alone, he is a friend to me," Davis said. "I don’t have to talk to him about football. We talk about life things, we talk about music, we talk about anything. I’ve felt that connection with coach (Emmett) Jones, coach Gibbs, and coach (DeShaun) Foster, too. All the coaches and their closeness is really what amazed me.”
Davis is the Red Raiders' fifth defensive back commit for the 2017 class. He is looking forward to bringing a "dog" mentality to the team's defensive secondary.
“Being a defensive back, you have to be a dog," he said. "In high school to be a defensive back, you have to be a dog. We are excited to bring that mindset, bring that attitude to Tech and excel on the field.”