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As the Texas Longhorns struggle to find running backs in the 2016 class, head coach Charlie Strong is returning to his familiar recruiting grounds in Florida by extending a Monday offer to Lakeland's AJ Davis:
Just received an off from the Texas Longhorns ⚪️ pic.twitter.com/42mA1N25X4
— Aj Davis♊️ (@ajdavis_2) May 2, 2016
The consensus four-star prospect now boasts over 30 offers, including Arizona, Arizona State, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
Recent visits for Davis include only Florida and Florida State, so any major out-of-state trips will have to wait for this summer or possibly even this fall when he can take his five official visits. Right now, the Gators are considered the leader, but since he only has two predictions in his 247Sports Crystal Ball, there's hardly an industry consensus about where he's leading, suggesting that his recruitment is rather open.
The 5'11, 193-pounder had a solid day at The Opening Orlando Regional camp this year with a 4.27 shuttle and a 34.4-inch vertical leap, but either didn't run a 40-yard dash or wasn't happy with his results.
Regardless, his rankings and offer list tell the tale of how the industry and college coaches feel about him -- he's the No. 126 prospect nationally, the No. 8 running back, and the No. 24 player in Florida, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
With La Grange star JK Dobbins seemingly firm with Ohio State at the moment and Houston Langham Creek's Toneil Carter not seriously considering the Longhorns at this time, recruiting out-of-state prospects like Davis makes sense for Texas as the 'Horns try to find a running back in the 2017 class. Perhaps Strong's ties to Florida can help get Davis on campus this summer or for an official visit.