When Carlton Davis committed to Ohio State on August 11th, there was a noticeable silence from the Twitter account of the Buckeyes Director of Player Personnel Mark Pantoni. The Swaggernaut's calling card, a well-placed #Boooom, was no where to be seen as the four-star defensive back surprised everyone by selecting the Buckeyes over a host of other schools he was considering.
The reason?
Most close to the Buckeyes didn't believe that Davis would end up sticking with the Buckeyes come signing day. That belief was buoyed by Davis stating plainly — just minutes after his announcement — that he would still make a number of visits to other schools. While Ohio State was glad to have him in their class, the odds were not in their favor to keep him.
As the fall rolled around, Davis became a hotter commodity in recruiting circles but his commitment to Ohio State seemingly became stronger. He made his official visit to Ohio State at the end of November and told Eleven Warriors "I know where I am going to school." The Buckeyes felt they were in the clear, even after an unofficial visit to his hometown Hurricanes in mid-November and an official visit back to Coral Gables in December.
Last month, as Ohio State got more and more secure in their standing with Davis, rumors began that he'd make a few more visits. He visited Florida, a favor to defensive coordinator Randy Shannon, a family friend who had been active in his recruitment with Arkansas. At the Semper-Fidelis All-American Bowl in California, Davis once again reiterated his pledge, telling other outlets that he was "150-percent committed" to the Buckeyes.
In recent weeks, as the Buckeyes began to believe Davis was secured, Auburn slowly crept into the picture and was able to convince the 6-foot-2, 185-pounder to make an official visit with the Tigers, which took place this past weekend. Ohio State's Chris Ash and Urban Meyer were scheduled to visit Davis tonight but as Eleven Warriors told you three days ago that visit was not going to happen because Davis had let the Buckeyes know he was heading to Auburn on Tuesday morning and that they should not visit.
Today reports about Davis' choice began to circulate and he will not sign with the Buckeyes, instead he intends to flip his commitment to Auburn, six days before signing day.
A firm reminder that recruiting in 2015 is always going be interesting.
