2020 Illini Signee: DE Cooper Davis

A coaching change at Missouri allowed Illinois to create an opportunity to flip the commitment of Cooper Davis from one rival to the next.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- In the four or five years he’s scheduled to be at Illinois, Cooper Davis isn’t slated to ever line up across from a Missouri team on a football field.

That didn’t stop the Florida three-star defensive line prospect from adding spice to the Braggin’ Rights rivalry between the two schools with his recruiting decision. Davis, who is listed at 6-foot-5 and 245-pound pass rusher, had been verbally committed to Missouri’s program since June just nine days after he visited the campus in the summer. However, Missouri’s coaching transition allowed Illinois to regain footing with the 46th-best strong-side defensive end prospect according to 247Sports.com. Davis, a native of Melbourne, Fla., officially flipped his commitment last week mostly due to the persistence of Illinois defensive line coach Austin Clark.

Davis finished fourth in Florida Class 7A Player of the Year voting after having 103 tackles, 22 sacks, 39 tackles for loss, 18 quarterback hurries, and one interception as a senior at Viera High School. He was a consensus three-star recruit by 247.com, ESPN.com, and Rivals.com

Davis also had scholarship offers from Minnesota, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Syracuse, Tennessee, UCF, USF, West Virginia, Duke, and Nebraska.

You can see Davis’ basketball player skills on the gridiron and Clark will hope that athleticism will translate to at least being an adequate pass rusher on third downs. Davis’ high school tape shows his ability to shred double-team and chip blocks against pass protection designed to neutralize him.

In an exclusive interview with Davis, the Florida prospect told 247Sports.com that his connection with Lovie Smith and his staff was similar to what he’d established with fired head coach Barry Odom at nearby rival Missouri. Davis was able to part of Illinois’ big official visit group two weeks ago and didn’t take very long to establish enough comfort with Clark, who is a Florida native.

“The opportunity to play right away and the people I met (stood out during the visit)," Davis told 247Sports.com. "I love Coach Clark, and I think he can make me a great player.”