Cornerback Davis excited to play in Big 12

Jaden Davis doesn't understand why every top defensive back wouldn't want to play in the Big 12.

"I wish I could have 50 passes a game," the Oklahoma commit said. "In the Big 12 you're either gonna get beat, or you're gonna make a lot of plays."

Davis will sign with the Sooners on Wednesday, the first day of college football's early signing period. The four-star cornerback from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, committed to OU on July 18 over Penn State and Kentucky.

Mike Stoops and defensive backs coach Kerry Cooks were his primary recruiters, but Davis stayed committed even after Stoops' dismissal.

Davis, 5-foot-9 and 166 pounds, is OU's third highest-ranked defensive commit. He's a top-300 national prospect and the 26th-ranked cornerback, according to the 247Sports composite.

The Oklahoman caught up with Davis by phone over the weekend as he was working through his national letter of intent paperwork.

Q: When did your relationship with OU's staff begin?

A: "They offered during the spring of my junior year. When they first offered I was interested in the school, but it wasn't really my top school. I

didn't know much about the University of Oklahoma. I didn't know what Coach Riley was really doing in Norman. I went up there and it changed everything. The first day, I instantly felt at home. I felt the love. It's different coming from Fort Lauderdale."

Did you expect the visit to go that well?

"I went into the visit with an open mind. My parents, we had this talk before we went on any official. They were like, 'No place is gonna be exactly like South

Florida.' I've lived here my whole life. It's all I know. I went in there with an open mind, and it was a nice change. It's a lot different — the way people talk, the way that people show love to other people is different than South Florida ... The second day I was up there I told my parents, 'This is the place. This is where I want to go to school.'"

You said you talk to Lincoln Riley once a week. What are those conversations like?

"He talks about anything. Ninety-nine percent of the time it's not about football. It's about life — how my week is going and about family. We talk about everything from my mom's job, to my dad. We've talked about my little brother having a concert at his school. We know football is an important part, but he's recruiting you to become a man. That's what he was standing on."

Has any of the uncertainty about the defensive staff concerned you?

"I have never wavered from Oklahoma at all. I understood the coaching changes that might happen, the coaching changes that have happened. I have faith in what's going on there. I have faith in Coach Riley in that he'll do the best for me and my family and what's best for the team. We had one conversation about the defensive coordinator when it first happened. He called exactly the day after it all happened because he knew it was going to blow up. He called and checked in. He said, 'Jaden, just trust me. I would never do anything to put you in a position that would compromise where you wanna go in life.' That was his message. We didn't talk about a defensive coordinator or coaches since that day. That's all I needed to hear."