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Davenport favors two
Jason Pughe
Updated April 1, 2008...
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Chris Davenport is a 6-4.5 315 pound defensive tackle from Mansfield High School in Louisiana. He has offers from 20 schools and his offer list includes LSU, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Georgia, Ole Miss, UCLA and USC. While his offer list is impressive, as of right now he only has two schools on top.
“I have about 20 offers so far, but I really haven’t made a top list and I’m working on it right now,” Davenport said. “My favorites are USC and LSU; it’s between them right now.”
Davenport said that he really liked these two schools for a number of reasons:
LSU: “I like the academic program they have. My dad and I went down there Wednesday and toured the campus and the academic building. I really liked it there and I like the coaches and players. I was an LSU fan growing up. I liked the defensive line they had and all the players they put out. They are definitely one of my top schools.”
USC: “I really don’t know much about USC, but I have family that stays out there. That’s another factor that will play a role in my decision.”
While one of his main factors his having family close by, Davenport is really focused on academics as well.
“I’m looking for a school with a good academic program and that has a good graduation rate for their athletes,” he said. “I am going to be a music major, so I want to find a school with a good music program.”
Last season, Davenport accumulated 120 tackles, 20 of those for losses, 18 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, and 3 recovered fumbles. His performance helped earn him 1st team All-District MVP, 1st team All-Area MVP, and 1st team All-State honors. The scouting report on Davenport is that he is very quick for his size. A couple of things that he wants to work on are his upper body strength and his 40 time (5.2). A lot of people compare him to a former LSU standout defensive tackle.
“Some people compare my style of play to Glenn Dorsey,” Davenport said. “I guess I pattern myself after Glenn Dorsey.”
While Davenport is one of the top players in the country, he hasn’t spent a lot of time this year visiting a lot of campuses. Last season, he visited a number of SEC schools and has an upcoming visit this weekend. Despite having two teams at the top of his list and a visit this weekend, he’s not looking to make his decision anytime soon.
“I haven’t really taken any visits this year,” he said. “Last year, I went to Alabama, Ole Miss, and LSU. All of them had a lot of good people and they weren’t any different than the people in Louisiana. I basically felt like I was home in Louisiana when I visited those schools. As of right now I don’t have any visits coming up. Actually, more than likely I will go to LSU’s spring game this weekend. I’m going to decide sometime during the football season next year.”
Davenport hasn’t visited a lot of schools; however there are a few coaches that have already started to make an impression on him.
“I have developed a good relationship with my recruiter from LSU which is D.J. McCarthy,” said Davenport. “Coach Lewis and Coach Cross from Minnesota are two coaches that I am starting to develop a good relationship with too.”
Most high school athletes stress about making the decision on what college they plan on attending. Throw in another difficult decision on what All-American game to play in and it just doesn’t get any easier for these top prospects. For Davenport however, it wasn’t too difficult of a decision. He just wanted to make a decision that made the most sense for his family.
“I have accepted the invite to the US Army All-American game because my family will get a chance to see me play in San Antonio,” he said. “They live right in Houston and it won’t be as much as a drive there as it would be to Florida.”