Daewood Davis had just finished up a long practice. He had the stress of football on his mind, which was only compounded by the stress of recruitment.

He got home and dozed off to sleep. His sleeping mind wandered to years past the present. He was a national champion, and he was playing for Syracuse.

“I was in the national championship, and then I was on stage holding up the national championship trophy,” Davis said. “And then I woke up … and after that it clicked.”

Davis, a wide receiver from Florida, became the first commit in the Class of 2017 for Syracuse on Monday. His commitment came while Syracuse is still trying to fill spots for its Class of 2016. He chose the Orange over offers from Louisville, North Carolina State and Nebraska, among others, according to Scout.com.

“I wanted to commit before my season started,” Davis said. “I (wanted to build a relationship) with the coaches and the players early.”

Davis said he told his mom about his decision on Sunday night, and she supported him completely. His only contact with SU football outside of recruiter Joe Adam was a phone conversation with Bobby Acosta on Monday. He has yet to visit Syracuse and said he keeps up with the football program “a little bit.”

But he said Adam and him became “best of friends” with Adam telling Davis that he was like current SU receiver Steve Ishmael, who is also from Florida. Davis said that when Adam first saw his highlight tape he was “shocked.”

Said Davis: “I think Syracuse is the place for me.”

Published on June 29, 2015 at 3:57 pm

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3