INKED: LB Wendell Davis signs with Pitt
Richmond (Va.) linebacker Wendell Davis has signed his National Letter of Intent to continue his athletic and academic career at Pitt. Find out more about Davis and his journey and history as a recruit.
Wendell Davis became the tenth player to sign with Pitt’s football program in the 2018 recruiting class on National Signing Day, joining his classmates signing today in Pitt's class. Davis is a 6-foot-2, 215-pound linebacker from Richmond (Va.) Benedictine School and a long-time commit. Here’s a brief look back at his journey as a recruit and his history with Pitt:
First appearance on Rivals: Wendell Davis received his first offer of the recruiting process in December of his junior season from the Charlotte 49ers. Throughout the next few months, Davis' recruitment began to take off. He took a visit to Virginia Tech and added offers from programs like Boston College, Duke, Old Dominion, Buffalo, East Carolina, and other Group of Five programs.
Pitt offers Davis: "[Linebacker coach Rob Harley] is a great guy, real cool guy; I like him a lot. He really wants me to visit," Davis said following the February offer. "Now I have some time to get up there, so I’m looking forward to that. I really started following them this year because they had a really good season. I really like what they do with their defense and I’m looking forward to seeing what they have to offer on the academic side and the football.”
Davis commits to Pitt: After Davis was able to make that March visit to Pitt that he discussed above, he quickly placed the Panthers among the top group of schools from his list. Pitt joined Duke atop that list of schools. Schools like West Virginia, Michigan State, Indiana, Rutgers, Syracuse, and Wake Forest went on to join Davis' offer list as the months went on, but Davis committed to Pitt early in June. While other programs had continued to recruit Pitt, Davis fell in love on the March visit and couldn't see himself anywhere else.
In his words: “I’ve been talking about Pitt since I visited in March,” Davis told Panther-Lair.com on June 2nd following the decision. “I had other visits planned but I kept thinking about Pitt; they had been my favorites for so long, I figured I might as well commit and get my spot. I visited the school, fell in love with it, saw them practice and knew it was something I wanted to be part of.” Davis later discussed more of his love for Pitt in a video interview in the fall.
Davis' Impact: "More than anything else, Davis provides Pitt’s linebacker corps with a much-desired infusion of speed and quickness. Pat Narduzzi looks for linebackers who can fly around the field and he’s found that in the Virginia native. Unlike many of his fellow prospect, Davis has more than combine speed – his speed and quickness translate to the field incredibly well. Davis shows the ability to close on the ball-carrier quickly, largely due to his burst and ability to accelerate quickly. He takes strong pursuit angles and uses his teammates and the field to his advantage in corralling runners and quarterbacks." Check out more notes on his impact here.
On his official visit: “I saw the family part; that was the really big thing,” Davis told Panther-Lair.com. “Talking to players, I could tell how close they are and the bond they’ve formed. It’s really unique... I had a lot of fun, ate a lot of food, and overall I just had a really good experience. I saw a lot more of the school, a lot more details of what goes in the program. It was really good. The other times I visited, I saw the broad picture of Pitt; this time I saw a lot more.”
