4* S Derrick Davis Jr commits to LSU

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Venneasha, a teacher at Colfax in Pennsylvania, is the go-to parent on the academic front. Derrick Sr., an Alabama native who signed with Michigan State in high school, knows the football side like the back of his hand.

“His father knows the football inside and out,” Venneasha said. “I look for the education my son will receive. What is life like outside of football? What does the community look like?”

This past weekend, Venneasha brought Derrick Jr. on one final visit: LSU.

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They had not seen Baton Rouge, and with the Tigers joining Penn State and Ohio State in his final three, it was considered a must to get to campus ahead of his decision.

And after more than 48 hours in Louisiana, LSU is suddenly viewed as much more than a dark horse for the nation’s No. 2 safety prospect in the 2021 recruiting class.



Venneasha Davis wasn’t sure what to expect on the trip to Louisiana.

She was joined by her sister and her son on the trip, but it would be one without interaction with college coaches. The NCAA’s ongoing dead period has banned in-person meetings with coaches from mid-March until at least January 2021, and the Tigers were on the road at Auburn while the Davis family was on campus.

It sounds like hurdles would make things more tough when getting a feel for LSU, but the no contact - and no football - turned into a blessing in disguise.

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One thing that stood out about the Tigers was the depth at safety. Todd Harris, JaCoby Stevens and Cameron Lewis could all be in their final seasons in Baton Rouge, which would mean the lone scholarship safeties remaining might be sophomore Maurice Hampton and true freshman Jordan Toles.

And even with LSU sitting at 2-3 and battling struggles in the secondary, it’s not something that comes out of left field for the Davis family.

“We liked when coaches could have open dialogue and them just be honest, and we got that with LSU,” Davis Sr. said. “Even going into the season they said ‘we may struggle this year’. It wasn’t like others saying ‘its the best team in years’.

“I challenged him to do his homework and look up what is what. Look at your options. What is the best fit for you? At LSU, they have a history of seeing a lot of freshmen playing. That is one of the beauties of it. They are losing everyone in the deep secondary from the national championship team to now. The cupboard is open for competition.”

For Veneassha Davis, the football side is left up to Derrick Jr. and his father. Her role as a mother became about exploring everything on the academic side first-and-foremost, then making sure the fit with the coaching staff was there.

LSU checked those boxes despite never meeting face-to-face with the family, from Busch’s conversations with Derrick about his pets and class projects to the sound of a familiar voice booming through the phone in her living room.

“I don’t talk to coaches. There are too many of them,” she said with a laugh. “I said I would talk to them at his final schools. And let me tell you, Coach O’s voice can be heard. I hear him in there on the phone and say ‘Who are you talking to?’ And every time I hear that voice, it’s ‘Mom, it’s Coach O.” And Derrick has a big smile.

“It is the connections and contact they had. At LSU, they just seem like a genuine group of guys. They kept in contact with him a lot, and he loved that. There are a couple schools that did the same, but they just went above and beyond. I don’t even watch football, but I can hear that Coach O voice at least twice a week. He’s right there in the living room with us. We never even needed an in-home visit. With FaceTime and technology today, it makes it no different than what you get when you go there. Yes, he didn’t shake his hand. But the way they are calling my son, that’s all I needed to see. And they respect him. They don’t call at school. They wait until after school to call. And we notice those things, and he does, too.”

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The four-star safety plans on announcing his final decision this Saturday around 5 p.m. in his hometown of Monroeville.

Penn State has always been viewed as the favorite for Davis because of his relationship with the Nittany Lions coaching staff, especially former Gateway head coach and current PSU assistant head coach and secondary coach Terry Smith.

However, over the last two weekends, Davis has made two visits to Columbus and then this past weekend, he made a trip to Baton Rouge that must have made favorable impressions on him.

While at LSU, Davis had the chance to walk around their campus, see where their dorms are located and was able to see their impressive downtown with his family.

In terms of who has the advantage, they all appear to be even but because of how long they’ve been recruiting him, the staffs at Ohio State and Penn State have had the best chance to form relationships with Davis and his family.

Meanwhile, the Gators are playing in the WPIAL Class-5A semifinals on Friday night against Peters Township.

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Mike Vukovcan at PGH Sports wrote that Davis' decision will come down to Penn State, Ohio State, or LSU. Davis made visits to Ohio State and LSU the past two weekends so this decision is far more unpredictable than before those visits. Only four total 247 Crystal Balls are logged for Davis, with three being for Penn State and one as foggy. This will come down to the wire and there will likely be a wave of predictions on Friday or Saturday that help paint a clearer picture.

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As legend continues ver the next three years, Davis would end up scoring a program record 77 touchdowns to date, win another WPIAL championship as a junior, earn an invite to the Under Armour All-American Game and heads into Saturday’s college decision to be broadcast live on CBS Sports HQ at 4:15 EST as the 247Sports Composite’s No. 2 safety in the nation and No. 53 prospect overall. Finalists for Davis’s pledge include LSU, Ohio State and Penn State.

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