CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s Michigan.
Providence Day 5-star quarterback Jadyn Davis made his college football decision official Friday on national television.
Davis, a rising senior, named his five finalists last week via a social media post. They were Ohio State, Michigan, Clemson, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Davis said he didn’t make the decision on coach Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines until Thursday night.
“Honestly,” he said, “I prayed on it last night, and I think last night was when it came true. I talked it over with my family again this morning and that’s what we wanted to go with, and that’s what we’re going to live with.”
Davis arrived at Providence Day’s gym Friday with 13 close friends and family, including his parents, Brandi and Jeremiah, and his sister Makailah, a basketball star at Fort Mill’s Catawba Ridge High School, where she averaged 15 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals as a sophomore.
Davis wore a gray hoodie emblazoned with the Jordan Brand logo, which was perhaps the only clue about where he might be going. Michigan and North Carolina are Jordan Brand schools.
In front of him were several hundred Providence Day students, including a few friends from other area schools.
Davis said he had told none of them what he was thinking.
“It was extremely hard (to keep it a secret),” he said. “You know everybody was asking me where I was going and truthfully I really didn’t know. Now I know and I’m certain on it and I can’t wait to get to Ann Arbor and win a lot of games.”
A 6-foot, 185-pound junior, Davis is ranked as the nation’s No. 2 quarterback prospect and No. 28 overall by 247 Sports. Last season at Providence Day, he led the Chargers to a 12-1 record and back-to-back Division I N.C. state championships, a school-first.
He threw for 3,425 yards and 43 touchdowns against just six interceptions. In a 55-13 win against Charlotte Christian in the state championship game, Davis threw for 352 yards and six touchdowns.
After the season, Davis swept all of the major N.C. player of the year awards, including the state’s biggest, Mr. Football and the N.C. Gatorade player of the year.
Providence Day coach Chad Grier wasn’t at Friday’s announcement. He’s on a planned trip to Greece, but before he left, he told The Charlotte Observer that whatever school Davis picked was getting a “polished, mature leader.”
Grier coached his son, Will, who was a national high school player of the year. Will Grier went onto to star at West Virginia and is now with the Dallas Cowboys. Coach Grier also coached former Wake Forest star Sam Hartman, who will start at Notre Dame this fall.
Grier said Davis — who was offered by Georgia and Alabama as an eighth-grader — is on the same tier as his son and Hartman.
“He’s legit, no doubt,” Grier said. “Will was a freak athlete. He could do things I couldn’t dream about. Jadyn is not that guy. He’s not going to throw it 80 yards and wow you, but his precision and accuracy is incredible, and he’s got the most poise and toughness I’ve seen. With Will and the (high school) senior version of Sam, it was all about wanting to use athleticism and extend plays. With Jadyn, I’ve never seen a guy in high school go through his progressions in a cloudy pocket (under pressure) and throw a strike.”
Now, Davis hopes to throw a few more for Providence Day, win another state title, and then pursue his college dreams in the Big 10.
“It’s great to this (decision) over with, and I’m extremely grateful for the process and the schools that recruited me,” Davis said, “but I’m all blue right now, so it’s go blue. And I can’t wait to get on campus.”
