CB Davis likes campus, fans at Illinois

Washington (D.C.) Dunbar cornerback Vontae Davis took his first official visit of the recruiting season to Illinois last weekend. The 6-foot-0, 184-pounder took in the Illini's devastating loss to Penn State 63-10.

"They've got a nice campus there, but as far as the game they lost badly. I understand there is going to be some hard times," he said. "They just got outplayed and Penn State was the much better team. The fans showed good support for their team even though they lost. If they are able to bring the program up that is definitely something to look forward to. As for my position on the field, the cornerbacks played well except they misread some plays. I did like what they were doing on defense though."

The three-star prospect got to Champaign Saturday morning.

"I got there and we ate lunch and then went to the game and before it started I went out onto the field for their pregame warm-ups. After the game was over, I got together with my host Derrick McPhearson. He was cool and told me how it's a nice atmosphere there and the fact that they need athletes to help them win. Derrick also took me around campus and we just hung out.

"On Sunday I went over to coach Zook's house and talked with him about the program, how I could help them and make a big impact. It was a good time talking to him."

Davis rated his trip a surprising seven out of ten.

"There's no real reason why, that's just what I thought about the visit," he said. "I still think they are one of my top choices."

The No. 1 player in the District of Columbia has scheduled a second official to Michigan State for November 19th when they play Penn State. He also mentioned he plans to take another official to Maryland in early December and that would probably be it.

Previously, Davis had Miami-Ohio high on his list. What happened to them?

"I'm not really that interested in them anymore," he said. "I just don't think that they'd be a good fit for me."