by Bill Seals
Always keeping a keen eye on high school football talent from the state of Ohio, Cyclone coaches liked what they saw in an outside linebacker from a program there and decided to add the prospect late in the 2019 class.
East Cleveland Shaw senior Daeshawn Davis announced his commitment on social media Saturday afternoon, three days after signing his national letter-of-intent and faxing it to the football offices in Ames. A two-way player in the Shaw program, competing as a linebacker and running back, Davis will be slotted in as an outside linebacker at ISU.
The courtship was a quick one between Iowa State and the 6-foot-1, 215-pound linebacker, beginning around the New Year and accelerating over the past week with Davis’ visiting Ames the weekend of February 1st.
“I was first contacted a few days after their bowl game and they were looking for another linebacker,” said Shaw head football coach Rodney Brown. “They had a young man who had made another choice, so they were looking for another one. They saw DaeShawn on Hudl and I had a relationship with Coach (Matt) Campbell. He recruited Shaw High School when he was at Toledo.
“Initially, he had a fantastic junior year but what we didn’t know was that during track season he suffered a partially torn meniscus that turned into a totally torn meniscus. He missed all the summer and the first four games of his senior year. Coming back off the injury, he had a phenomenal (senior) year. I would have definitely had in more camps (if not for the injury last summer).”
Brown accompanied his standout linebacker on the official visit and said it provided a great glimpse into being a student-athlete at ISU.
“He had an outstanding time," Brown said. "We were very impressed with the facilities, the education and the whole tutorial program they have there. We were very impressed with the coaches; they seem to really care about the individual more so than just the sport they’re participating in.”
Other highlights of Davis’ official visit included a stop at Hilton Coliseum for the men’s basketball game against Texas and a position meeting with linebackers coach Tyson Veidt.
“We attended a basketball game and just the spirit of that college is phenomenal,” Brown said. “You didn’t see a kid walking around campus that didn’t have on something with Iowa State on it. It was an enriching experience for him.”
“(During the position meeting, Veidt) had some of DaeShawn’s highlights on the tape and asked him to explain it and what he was looking at. That showed me he wanted to test DaeShawn’s football IQ to see if it matched what he was actually seeing on the tape. Some players are instinctive and move without purpose, but DaeShawn had an answer for it and was reading the keys. Coach Veidt is a tremendous individual.”
Once Davis returned home from the official visit, he weighed over his options and ended up sending his paperwork to the staff last Wednesday. Brown said Davis and a few other seniors in the Shaw program would have a more formal signing day press conference in the near future.
At different points in his recruitment, Davis had a Power-5 offer from Kentucky to go along with MAC programs Bowling Green and Toledo. Brown said some others were in the picture in the days leading up to signing day. None of those would emerge as better fits than ISU, said Davis’ coach.
“We did talk to Toledo a few days before we went out to Iowa State,” he said. “We didn’t hear from Kentucky much. There were some other schools that were very interesting in signing him and had offers, but I told him to hold out and we’d see.
“Me knowing Matt Campbell and Iowa State, I think it’s a phenomenal program and I’ve been following them the last few years. I’ve watched their resurgence in moving up to being a ranked school. I thought it would be a perfect fit for him on paper, but the visit is what sold us.”
Davis’ commitment and signing brings the Cyclones’ 2020 class size to 23. He is one of three linebackers, joining in-stater Coal Flansburg and Floridian Aric Horne. Rivals.com currently ranks ISU’s haul as the 49th-best nationally.
Always keeping a keen eye on high school football talent from the state of Ohio, Cyclone coaches liked what they saw in an outside linebacker from a program there and decided to add the prospect late in the 2019 class.
East Cleveland Shaw senior Daeshawn Davis announced his commitment on social media Saturday afternoon, three days after signing his national letter-of-intent and faxing it to the football offices in Ames. A two-way player in the Shaw program, competing as a linebacker and running back, Davis will be slotted in as an outside linebacker at ISU.
The courtship was a quick one between Iowa State and the 6-foot-1, 215-pound linebacker, beginning around the New Year and accelerating over the past week with Davis’ visiting Ames the weekend of February 1st.
“I was first contacted a few days after their bowl game and they were looking for another linebacker,” said Shaw head football coach Rodney Brown. “They had a young man who had made another choice, so they were looking for another one. They saw DaeShawn on Hudl and I had a relationship with Coach (Matt) Campbell. He recruited Shaw High School when he was at Toledo.
“Initially, he had a fantastic junior year but what we didn’t know was that during track season he suffered a partially torn meniscus that turned into a totally torn meniscus. He missed all the summer and the first four games of his senior year. Coming back off the injury, he had a phenomenal (senior) year. I would have definitely had in more camps (if not for the injury last summer).”
Brown accompanied his standout linebacker on the official visit and said it provided a great glimpse into being a student-athlete at ISU.
“He had an outstanding time," Brown said. "We were very impressed with the facilities, the education and the whole tutorial program they have there. We were very impressed with the coaches; they seem to really care about the individual more so than just the sport they’re participating in.”
Other highlights of Davis’ official visit included a stop at Hilton Coliseum for the men’s basketball game against Texas and a position meeting with linebackers coach Tyson Veidt.
“We attended a basketball game and just the spirit of that college is phenomenal,” Brown said. “You didn’t see a kid walking around campus that didn’t have on something with Iowa State on it. It was an enriching experience for him.”
“(During the position meeting, Veidt) had some of DaeShawn’s highlights on the tape and asked him to explain it and what he was looking at. That showed me he wanted to test DaeShawn’s football IQ to see if it matched what he was actually seeing on the tape. Some players are instinctive and move without purpose, but DaeShawn had an answer for it and was reading the keys. Coach Veidt is a tremendous individual.”
Once Davis returned home from the official visit, he weighed over his options and ended up sending his paperwork to the staff last Wednesday. Brown said Davis and a few other seniors in the Shaw program would have a more formal signing day press conference in the near future.
At different points in his recruitment, Davis had a Power-5 offer from Kentucky to go along with MAC programs Bowling Green and Toledo. Brown said some others were in the picture in the days leading up to signing day. None of those would emerge as better fits than ISU, said Davis’ coach.
“We did talk to Toledo a few days before we went out to Iowa State,” he said. “We didn’t hear from Kentucky much. There were some other schools that were very interesting in signing him and had offers, but I told him to hold out and we’d see.
“Me knowing Matt Campbell and Iowa State, I think it’s a phenomenal program and I’ve been following them the last few years. I’ve watched their resurgence in moving up to being a ranked school. I thought it would be a perfect fit for him on paper, but the visit is what sold us.”
Davis’ commitment and signing brings the Cyclones’ 2020 class size to 23. He is one of three linebackers, joining in-stater Coal Flansburg and Floridian Aric Horne. Rivals.com currently ranks ISU’s haul as the 49th-best nationally.
