Davis recaps recent road trip

The Villages (Fla.) linebacker Noor Davis began his spring break by taking a trip to Notre Dame, but by the time he concluded he had seen a half-dozen other universities as well. Upon returning to the Sushine State, he talked about his trips to Purdue, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Boston College, Harvard, and Virginia.

Purdue: "They had great facilities. A great indoor facility. It is my Dad's alma mater, so I saw pictures of him on the wall and about Boilermaker's who went to the pros. So it was a great experience."

Ohio State: "We went and saw their practice. We saw the energy that they play with at the college level. We met with academic advisors and toured the campus. It was a great experience. We met with Coach (Jim) Tressel and had a good time."

Pittsburgh: "Had a great time. Coach (Todd) Graham, their head coach, he took us around the entire city and showed us all of their facilities and the whole campus. I had a great time there."

Boston College: "That was a great trip there. We watched a practice. We watched them work out and what not. We met with all of their coaches, their head coach (Frank Spaziani) included. We talked to academic advisors and toured the campus. They just treated me great."

Harvard: "We looked around the football facilities. We had a very good trip there. They discussed all of the academics that they have, which speaks for itself. We toured the campus as well and saw Harvard Yard."

Virginia: "We met with the coaches and had a very, very good meeting with them. We had a chance to meet with the players and speak with them. We watched them lift a little bit and then toured the campus. We then met with academic advisors and also a Dean. We had an awesome trip."

Following his visit to Notre Dame, Davis said he expected to take an official visit back to South Bend to check the Fighting Irish out once again. At this point, he isn't in a rush to name likely official visit destinations out of his six most recent visits.

"I am not sure yet," Davis said. "I am still thinking. I have to talk that over with my family and make my decisions later."

While he isn't sure who he will see again, he does know that his numerous visits have helped to paint a picture of what he is looking for in his future home.

"It does," Davis said. "It gives me a standard that I want to look at a school for. It really helps form my vision of a school."

He described his 'vision' for a school of his choice.

"Whether I can see myself as a good fit for that school in terms of academics and athletics," Davis said. "It has to be a school I would go to if I didn't play football. I also look at the program's history and tradition, the location - whether big city or college town. That is about it."

The trip wasn't all business, as Davis also had an opportunity to see his uncle, NFL Hall of Famer Andre Tippett while in the Boston area. Tippett currently works for the New England Patriots, where he played his entire NFL career. Prior to being selected by the Patriots in the 1982 NFL Draft, Tippett played collegiately at Iowa.

With a father who has Purdue ties and an uncle with Iowa ties, is there any family pressure to select the Boilermakers or Hawkeyes?

"My father has always encouraged me to make my own decisions and be my own person," Davis said. "I am going to look at all my choices and make the best decision for myself."

Davis said his next plans are to head to the West Coast during the summer to see family. During that time he plans to tour UCLA and Stanford, as well as possibly others. He also plans to take his official visits in the fall.