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Update: 11:16a. The D.O. received this text from Davis Thursday:¬†‚ÄúI‚Äôm no longer a commit of cuse.‚Äù What ended up happening? All we know is it’s because of “personal reasons.” ¬†Who knows what’s going on behind the scenes. We wish him the best of luck figuring out what’s next, and hopefully Davis’ story ends up better than Dom Timbers. Read below.¬†
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In the most bizarre event of Syracuse football‚Äôs recruiting season to date, it turns out¬†speedy Milford Academy running back Charles Davis¬†never actually committed to the Orange. He’s listed as a Class of ’12 recruit, but was reportedly going to play at Milford this fall. Davis’ nickname is “Fast,” but did he instead pull a fast one?
There are plenty of incorrect reports that surface from the media, but it comes as a surprise when you get misinformation from a primary source. Davis tweeted and posted on his Facebook wall that he had committed. But in this case, the player seems to be flat wrong.
Numerous reputable media outlets reported the commitment. Many featured direct quotes from Davis saying he loves Coach Tyrone Wheatley, was influenced by neighbor and former Orange running back James Mungro, and is looking forward to getting away from his hometown of Avon, Indiana.
Ominously, Davis says, “I want to get as far away from the Midwest as I can and do better for me. There is no distractions for me out there and I feel that’s a good place for me.”
And yet here we are today, with lots of questions and few answers. Syracuse has been mum on the situation. Several attempts by The Fizz to call his coach at Milford, Bill Chaplick, have gone unreturned.
In the absence of any fresh information regarding Davis and his non-commitment, The Fizz offers up a few different theories.
- Miscommunication
There are two sides to every story, and the truth usually lies somewhere in between. Davis went on the record saying he committed to the Orange, and some sort of SU-affiliated source told Nolan Weidner of The Post-Standard otherwise. The truth might be that Davis thought he had an offer from Syracuse, but one doesn’t actually exist. Syracuse may have shown interest, but never officially offered.
Milford has been a well-known pipeline prep school to Syracuse for years. Ashton Broyld spent last season there. Myles Davis rehabbed there. Maybe Charles was under the false impression he always had an opportunity to play at Syracuse and just jumped the gun before anything was made official.
- Academics
As Weidner theorized, a hold-up related to Davis’s academic status is conceivable because we’ve seen it happen before. Woodbridge, VA linebacker Darius Parson informed the Orange of his verbal commitment last summer, only to be told there was no spot for him in the recruiting class because he didn’t qualify academically. Parson later committed to Central Connecticut State (Division 1 FCS).
There is also the most mysterious story in¬†Fizz history, the disappearance of Dom Timbers. Ruled academically ineligible after committing to SU, he¬†vanished off the face of the Earth¬†concerning even his mother before resurfacing at Lackawanna Junior College in Scranton, PA. Hopefully Davis doesn’t wind up as the next Timbers, and become a complete enigma. Once rated 3-stars and a top 50 running back in the nation by Rivals, Timbers rushed for just 156 yards in 8 games last season for Lackawanna.
- It Was All a Ruse
One of his buddies could have Mohamed Sanu-ed him and prank called him with an Orange offer. Or, Davis just made it all up à la Kevin Hart in 2008, staging a press conference in which he chose California over Oregon.
The Fizz doubts Davis did anything like that, but as of now the actual answers are few and far between.
Posted: Andrew Kanell
