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Texas quarterback Avery Davis verbally committed to the Irish today during his Junior Day visit. The 247 Composite lists the 6'0"/190 pounder as the #213 overall player and the #7 dual-threat quarterback in the country.
Notre Dame offered Avery back in October. He was the first quarterback offered after the Irish lost the battle for Hunter Johnson's pledge to Tennessee (Johnson later de-committed from Tennessee and is now committed to Clemson). He has been on the top of the staff's quarterback board for months now, with the only other offer going out to 3-star Hendon Hooker. After Davis' commitment, the Irish are now finito at quarterback for the 2017 recruiting cycle.
Davis excelled in his first year starting at Cedar Hill High School as a junior. He completed 138 of 211 passes (65.4%) for over 2,000 yards and 25 touchdowns to just 4 interceptions. He also rushed the ball for almost 900 yards and another 13 touchdowns.
Recruiting Service Rankings
Rivals -- 3 star (5.7 rating), NR overall, #14 position, #50 in Texas
247 -- 3 star (87 rating), #465 overall, #12 position, #59 in Texas
ESPN -- 4 star (83 rating), #72 overall, #4 position, #11 in Texas
Scout -- 4 star, #134 overall, #12 position, #25 in Texas
247 Composite -- 4 star (.9165 rating), #213 overall, #7 position, #30 in Texas
Cohort
In addition to his Notre Dame offer, Avery holds offers from Colorado, Utah, Texas Tech, Houston, Kansas State, Oregon State, Virginia, and others. Not an elite offer list by any means, but respectable.
Highlights
Looking at Davis' highlights, you can tell the kid is a playmaker. He's a pretty accurate passer and he releases the ball with some zip. He's a lot more than just a runner, but boy, is he electric when he gets a chance to take off. You see more of that in his sophomore highlights than in his junior highlights. He possesses outstanding speed for the position and provides an excellent ability to move around in the pocket and escape if need be. I've seen comparisons to Everett Golson and there are quite a few similarities, but I personally think Davis possesses more skill as a runner.
The most obvious knock on Davis is his size. At just 6'0" and 190 pounds, he's not your prototypical NFL quarterback prospect in that regard. But height (though still important) is often something you can work around easier in college. Another issue some see with his game is ball control (cue collective groaning). Height obviously can't be coached, but the staff will surely take the steps to ensure ball handling isn't an issue once he sees the field.
Career Impact
With the loads of talent Notre Dame has at the position, it would take a series of very unfortunate events for Davis to see the field as a true freshman. By the time he steps on campus, Deshone Kizer will still have 2 years of eligibility left, Brandon Wimbush will have 2-3 years of eligibility, and incoming freshman from the Class of 2016 Ian Book will likely still have 4 years of eligibility as well. Davis will most likely redshirt and spend some time on the scout team absorbing the offensive playbook , but he should be someone who can push for the starting job a couple years down the road.
Welcome to the Irish family, Avery!