Ohio the leader for the 6-0, 180 (4.45) S/OLB from Kalvin McRae's hometown.

http://blogs.ajc.com/georgia-high-school-sports/2011/08/1...

He's named Torian in the above report, but most Web listings have him as Toran Davis.

Toran looks great in his highlight film:

www.youtube.com/watch

I love our strategy on LB's these days - bring in undersized and lightening fast playmakers and beef them up a bit. In a year or two we'll see how this has worked out for us when we have a defense featuring guys like Grady, Jovon Johnson and others.

Another Georgia guy recruited. I feel like the staff is doing a good job at maximizing the recruiting base. What I'm deriving from recruiting this year for Frank's 8th class is there is 3 major recruiting strategies to go along with maintaining a presence in hotbeds like GA, TX, CA, NJ. The first strategy is what I call the Marshall strategy where they made name for themselves by recruiting VA/MD heavily in an area where there are few D1 schools. The second strategy which we are seeing more this season is the Northern Illinois strategy. NIU takes advantage of the fact that the Great Plains region doesn't have any other non-BCS program and sometimes depending on needs by the BCS schools a few talented players don't find spots. That is what Ohio has done with much success in Nebraska with Keller, Lechner and Vick and now is trying to replicate that formula more broadly in the Great Plains. A third strategy is the Western Michigan where a school hits Florida hard for talent to make up for not enough in-state. This year Ohio hitting Florida hard figuring they may not get the talent they want in-state. In the 2011 recruiting year Ohio cleaned up in-state over Toledo and Miami but now that they've got their programs back on track they are recruiting the state better this year. Toledo has a rare MAC appeal of going to school in the city and Miami is sitting near the Greater Cincinnati football hotbed. The problem with Toledo and Miami is the way they are scheduling is hurting their ability to receive recognition. The scheduling strategy at Ohio makes a lot of sense in that the recognition comes in wins and with multiple regional/national recruiting strategies its eventually going to pay big on the recruiting trail. I don't think the other coaching staff's in the MAC can project themselves as well nationally and a lot of that is due to resources. The administration at Ohio is not holding back in funding the football program.

In basketball its different. Whether you win 22 games or 25 it doesn't really make that much of a difference as far as perception or recruiting. When you are talking 10-12 wins vs. 22-25 then its starts to make a difference in recruiting. you are better off adding names to the schedule for potential quality wins come NCAA selection time. 

In football you need 7 wins (for a MAC school at least) to make a bowl. Making a bowl equals to extra practices, National TV appearance, ect. That helps the program get stronger to contend for a conference championship. In recruiting, a MAC school is a MAC school. Schools are not going to be switching commitments from the BCS to Toledo because of who they play in the non-conference schedule. Toledo may be able to sign more of the better MAC level players but the reality is its a different marketplace than what the BCS schools are dealing with. Ohio by playing the easier non conference schedule is giving itself not only a better chance to make a bowl but a more realistic chance to run the table and make the top 25. High level performance will do far more for recruiting then just who you play. Playing a tough schedule is good for a program like UMass moving up to FBS to get their name out there with fans being new but long term a large amount of winning is better. Ohio beacuse of its location not located in a football hotbed needs to Boise State and roll off a bunch of 10-12 win seasons staying regualrly on ESPN. Eventually students and alumni will wake up and become excited about the program if the Bobcats can do that.

That sounds like what is going to happen to Toledo when they host a top 5 Boise State.

And it cOUnts!

So Awesome!!!!!

Southwest DeKalb senior defensive back and running back Toran Davis named Defensive Player of the Year in Georgia Region 6-AAAA.
 
Davis, an all-state player in 2010, was Southwest DeKalb's leading rusher (463) and tackler (62 stops) and had nine tackles for losses and four interceptions.

looks good in the classroom, too, with a 3.7 gpa coming into his senior year.  His coach called him "one of the finest student-athletes ever to play at our school."  LOTS to like here... 

They must really project this kid to fill out if he's going to go from a 180lb DB to an OLB.  We do need the upgrade in speed to keep up with these spread passing offenses, so maybe that's their strategy here.