PASADENA, Calif. – New Michigan quarterback signee Jadyn Davis was on the Wolverines’ radar early in the recruiting process.
The four-star prospect out Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day signed his national letter of intent with Michigan earlier this month and is one of eight early enrollees practicing with the team in California ahead of Monday’s Rose Bowl against No. 4 Alabama.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh can already see why he made Davis, who was ranked as the No. 93 overall prospect and No. 7 quarterback in the 2024 class, a priority.
“The thing that is sticking out is… you give him a coaching – I’ve given him four now since he’s been here, and he gets it immediately,” Harbaugh said at Saturday’s media day at Rose Bowl Stadium. “The next rep, he’s doing it exactly how I just explained it.
“Just the intelligence, the athleticism it takes to do that I’ve found is rare. He’s got the ability to visualize what you’re saying and then athletic enough to immediately replicate it. That’s special. That’s something I’ve noticed immediately.”
In two seasons at Providence Day, the 6-foot, half-inch, 202-pounder led the team to a 24-2 record and two state titles. Despite dropping in the national recruiting rankings in the past year, Davis was named Mr. North Carolina for a second straight season after completing 70 percent of his passes while throwing for 3,370 yards and 43 touchdowns to nine interceptions in 2023.
Only J.J. McCarthy and Brandon Peters were higher-ranked Michigan quarterback recruits under Jim Harbaugh.
“Just jumping in and watching how he handles himself, it’s kind of an important tool for me to see because you can tell – it’s like watching J.J. when J.J. took the field for the first time,” Harbaugh said.
“Just the presence that he has and had, and to watch Jadyn do that, very interesting. How is he going to approach the first day? There it is. There’s the presence, there’s the genuine confidence, there’s the work ethic, there’s the humility. It’s great to see.”
Davis won’t play in Monday’s game, but he was taking reps in practice on Friday in Saturday in the portion open to media. Harbaugh and quarterbacks coach Kirk Campbell spent a good amount of time giving the young quarterback instruction in between reps.
Jim Harbaugh giving QB signee Jadyn Davis some instruction following a rep
“The whole recruiting process and getting to know him, his family, great kid, great leader, winner, very talented with arm talent,” Campbell told MLive at media day. “Excited about that. When he showed up on campus last week, couldn’t have asked for a more coachable player. Takes coaching points and is able to apply them right away. Just super excited about him and his growth and his development. Great addition to the room character-wise.”
Campbell was elevated from analyst to quarterbacks coach in January and helped Michigan secure a commitment from Davis in March. McCarthy also helped spearhead Davis’ recruitment.
“It clicked from the start,” McCarthy said. “Just tremendous athlete, tremendous thrower of the football. I trained with him a couple times this past summer, and the sky is the limit for him. Just such a great leader, such a great teammate.
“Just have so many good things to say about him, but I can’t wait for him to show you guys.”
