Florida DB hearing frequently from Cyclones, targeting visit
An offseason assistant coaching change at Iowa State hasn’t hurt the program’s chances at landing a 2022 safety from the Florida high school ranks.
Auburndale three-star junior Elijah Davis said he’s developing a strong bond with first-year safeties coach Deon Broomfield, who arrived in Ames after a stint as an assistant defensive backs coach with the NFL’s Houston Texans.
“They’ve been recruiting me for a while,” said Davis, who was offered by the Cyclones during his sophomore year. “Coach (D.K.) McDonald left and now the new safeties coach (Deon Broomfield) has picked right up where he left off. Coach Broomfield and I can relate on a lot of things, because he’s from Florida. He told me how easy it is to leave the state of Florida to go to a good college.
“He likes Iowa State a lot. We’ve been on some Facetime calls. He said there are really only two teams up there, Iowa State or Iowa. There are no pro teams in the state. There are a lot of people that care about college football.”
A three-star prospect with a 5.6 Rivals rating, the 6-foot-1, 160-pound Davis also has Power-5 offers from Georgia Tech, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, NC State, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.
In the Cyclones’ 3-3-5 alignment, safeties play a vital role and Broomfield is selling Davis on the opportunity to make an impact early in his career.
“He’s been telling me that I could fit in really well with the scheme,” Davis said. “He likes how I cover the field, how I hit, how I come down and tackle, and that I can cover receivers. He says I’m a true defensive back. They play three safeties and that’s big because I can get.”
Davis said he took notice as I-State went on a historical run last season and won a New Years Six bowl game.
“There’s been a big change in the program, a big turnaround,” he said. “I watched a couple games last year. Their defense was way better. I love how physical they are. They’ve really turned the program around and I like that a lot.”
ISU is one of the schools Davis is planning on traveling to once the NCAA’s dead period ends.
“We’ve been talking about an official visit,” he said. “Iowa State is definitely one of the schools I’ll be going to. I dropped a top-10 a while back and from that the top schools recruiting me are USF, Middle Tennessee State, Howard, Iowa State and Michigan.