All-purpose Quarterback Tyler Davis, 2nd Commit for 2015
By, Matt Schonvisky
UCONN received their second verbal commitment of the class of 2015 Thursday night, when quarterback Tyler Davis announced his decision to become a Husky in the Wellington C. Mepham High School auditorium in Bellmore, NY on Long Island, in front of his family, coaches and teammates.
“I never would have thought I’d have a night like last night,” Davis revealed this afternoon over the phone. “There really are no words. This is something I’ve been dreaming of and to be able to do it in front of our incoming players who were there as part of our annual football meeting, it was a chance to demonstrate to the eighth graders in this program that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.”
A drive towards success started early according to Mepham head coach Anthony Cracco.
“He came into my office one day, this tall skinny 8th grader, asking if he could work out,” Cracco said also over the phone earlier today. “He walked from the middle school every day to use the gym, that’s just something you don’t see from a kid at that level.”
“It’s true,” the 6’ 5” quarterback admitted. “I’ve wanted this from such a young age.”
Throughout his high school career, Davis continued that unique work ethic, both on the field and off.
“He pushed aside everything else,” his head coach continued. “Didn’t miss a workout, was constantly in my office and constantly looking for ways to get better. He has never wavered from that mentality. Tyler is always the first guy in the building and the last to leave. There’s a reason he holds every record for skill position players in the weight room.”
“On the academic front, he’s mid 90’s in all his classes. I don’t know how he’s juggled it all, but he has. It’s been a whirlwind the last 8 months with visits, calls and workouts, but there’s never been a doubt that he’d fall behind because he’s great at managing himself and managing his time. We are a top rated high school with a challenging academic program and he’s still near the top of his class. Even with all the extracurricular activities he’s involved in, he’s graduating early and will be up on campus to put himself in a better position out of the gates.”
Yes, graduating high school early and being on campus in January will be good for Davis to get accustomed to a new offense and gain familiarity with the campus, his coaches and teammates, but that’s not the only reason he wants to get up there, according to the quarterback.
“The true reason I want to come in this spring is it’s a very important time for the team as a whole. I do want to get in and compete with the QBs as early as possible because that is what is going to make UCONN a better team. Nothing here is about me.”
As hard a worker as Tyler is, he is every bit as good a person.
“I have the highest praise for him,” Cracco proudly exclaimed. “The character and leadership he has, if I had a son like him I’d be extremely pleased as a parent. There are over thirteen-hundred and sixty students at this high school, two-hundred staff members and parents coming in and out and you could walk around and ask anyone about him. Not one single response would contain anything negative. He just has high character and is really a genuine, genuine kid. He’s not shy, he’s a very charismatic individual, but at the same time he doesn’t have a big head, there is no ego.”
Those traits could be attributed to his parents, who have guided Tyler every step of the way.
“They have been there to support me as they knew my dream was Division 1 football,” Davis said. “They brought me to all those different places for me to get better. They sacrificed their time, for me.”
Leadership? You bet.
“When coaches meet him and people meet him, they all say that he has the IT factor,” his head coach added. “He has that intangible leadership ability that is hard to describe. And it all comes natural for him, nothing is ever forced. The UCONN coaches loved that about him. He’s the one that puts together our morning workouts. He gets receivers out to work on throws and timing. He quickly earned and has the respect of all his teammates.”
So leadership? Check. Character? Check. Unique drive to make himself and those around him better? Check. Now how about the on-field product?
Davis, who had offers from Old Dominion, Bucknell, Albany, Central Connecticut State, Stony Brook, Monmouth and Buffalo, threw for over 1,000 yards and had 6 TD’s a year ago, his junior season.
“I’ve been excited since the first time I saw him throw a football,” the head coach stressed. “His size and tremendous arm, I think, are the reasons he’s been labeled a pro-style quarterback, but he can do it all. Spread teams were looking at him from day one and he can play either the pro or spread offense. UCONN is really looking to run a pro, but one that moves the pocket. Tyler has the ability to do a number of different things, including running the zone read out of the gun. It’s just rare for a 6’ 5” quarterback, but he really is a true threat in that regard.”
Davis, who also ran for over 1,100 yards a season ago, scored 21 TD’s on the ground and has been clocked unofficially with a 4.7 40 time.
“I’ll do whatever the coaches say,” he stressed. “They say run, I run; they say pass, I’ll pass. In the end it isn’t about me, it’s what’s best for the team. The whole pro vs spread thing, it doesn’t matter to me at all, whatever helps the team win.”
Davis is the first Mepham High School player to commit to a Division 1 program since Amos Zereoue in the mid-90s. He attributes a lot of his success to his head coach.
“No words can describe what he’s done,” Davis said. “He had over 50 coaches come in [during the recruiting process] and he stayed in contact with each and every one. He was always there to support me in anything I wanted to do. And being the first one in so long to get here, I take a lot of pride in that. What makes it extra special is to help the other guys in this program and those in the future that come through here, to get noted.”
UCONN was in early on Davis and they kept at it despite more and more schools giving Davis a look. Running Backs Coach and Director of Player Engagement David Curley was Davis’ main recruiter, but quarterbacks coach Don Patterson was also heavily involved.
“The middle of last month, Coach Patterson stopped in and you could tell he was impressed with his [Davis’] personality,” Cracco said. “He looked at film and immediately wanted to see him throw. After that, he sat in my office for a while and I knew they wanted him. Tyler later went up to campus and met with Coach Diaco and his staff and they certainly made Tyler feel welcomed. They really stressed to him that he was their No.1 guy on the QB board for 2015. It was a perfect fit.”
“I got the offer three days after Coach Patterson came down to watch me throw,” Davis noted. “I still remember where I was, I was in the car with my friends when I got the call. I was so jacked and excited, it was a great time. I went to UCONN for the first time two years ago for a camp when Coach Pasqualoni was still there. I immediately fell in love with the campus and UCONN always kept their interest, even when the staff changes happened.”
Davis knew then what he wanted and there was no going back according to Cracco.
“When he went up to UCONN and met with the staff, he was ready to be done. I made him come home and discuss his options, but he called and cancelled his other workouts. He was supposed to go to BC last Sunday even, Rutgers as well. But he told me, don’t tell me about any other schools who call, ‘I don’t care, this [UCONN] is the place for me.’”
The new commit wanted to also get this out of the way for another reason.
“It really interests me that I can help build this class by getting some other guys to come with me. I’m the second and Kevin Murphy [defensive lineman] was the first a couple days ago. Ben Hartwick [tight end] also committed last night, so we are building and we really want to build up this class. Our goal is to have one of the best classes on a national level.”
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