Name: Mikell Lands-Davis
Position: Running Back
Ht/Wt: 5’11" / 206 lbs. / 4.53
Location: Alexander – Douglasville, GA (2015)
Offers: Clemson, Michigan, Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Miami, Middle Tennessee State, NC State, North Carolina, South Alabama, Syracuse, UAB, Wake Forest
Rating: ★★★ .8667 (247 Composite)
Ranking: #525 NAT / #42 RB (247 Composite)
FILM
Michigan will be a big time player in the recruitments of both Damien Harris and Mike Weber, but if either of them decide that the Wolverines aren’t for them the coaches will need other options at running back and just a few days ago they offered Mikell Lands-Davis for that reason. The coaches have been after Lands-Davis since mid-April, when they stopped by his high school. Since that visit Lands-Davis was very excited to hear from Michigan and was really hoping for an offer. When it came he couldn’t hold back his excitement.
It was such a blessing when they stopped by to see me. I was just hoping for a Michigan offer. I love the fact that I have them as an option. I’m really excited about it! It was a huge offer for me that I really didn’t expect to get. I’m really blessed.
Coach Hecklinski headed up the recruiting efforts involving Lands-Davis and his pitch to the young running back is one that surely impresses all recruits.
Coach Heck told me to call him and he asked me if I’m seriously interested in Michigan. I said of course! The he asked me if I can tote the rock in front of 115,000 people every Saturday on the biggest stage in football, and again I said of course! Then he offered me and now he said he’ll just be in contact with me and that he’s going to recruit me to Michigan.
Lands-Davis runs with a style that the Michigan coaches like and with a 205 lb. frame, good balance, and a nice burst he appears to be a nice fit into the scheme moving forward. He explained his game in his own words.
I’m 5’11” and 206 lbs. and I run a 4.53. When watching me play you’ll see a physical guy who can hit the homerun play as well. I’m really patient in the hole and I’m either running someone over or slithering to break an arm tackle to get north and south as fast as I can. I’m all about running north and south, it’s the easiest way to score. I get a lot of comparisons to Tre Mason.
I agree with everything Lands-Davis said about himself. His knack for running to positive yardage in a straight line without any wasted energy is noticeable on film.
Even though Lands-Davis is a Georgia kid he said he’s not afraid to move away from home for school.
My recruitment is all just coming real fast to me. Colleges are coming out of nowhere. I got an Indiana offer recently which was really out of nowhere. After spring ball I’m going to look at all the colleges and pick a top 5 or 6 and visit them this summer. I need to see which school is the best fit for me and which school is going to help me be most successful in football and career wise. Michigan will definitely be in my top group. It’s hard not to like them.
I asked Mikell to expand on what makes Michigan so likeable.
I know historically it’s a top 5 program for football with rich tradition. I know they don’t send out offers to just anyone like some other schools do. They are limited and really go after great players which is why I feel so blessed. I know it’s cold (laughs) but it’s big time football.
Lands-Davis isn’t the first recruit to mention how cold Michigan can be but he sees a silver lining in the frigid reputation of the great lakes state.
It would just be something I’d have to get used to. Georgia is nothing but humid so every place has it’s downside. Hardest part of the year here is training camp.
Lands-Davis was actually born in California and moved to Georgia as a youngster. Those west coast roots turned him into a USC fan early on, mostly because of his affinity for Reggie Bush. He admitted with a laugh that an offer from the Trojans would be cool, but he doesn’t really rank them any higher because of that. He says a visit to USC’s campus would be necessary just like for anywhere else.
A visit to Michigan this summer is in the cards for Lands-Davis and then a top group of 5 or 6 will be formed that he says will include Michigan. He has plans for the rest of the spring and summer as well.
I plan on having my top list after spring ball which ends May 16th for me. I plan on making my decision before the season starts and I’m going to visit all this summer and see how everything goes. I haven’t thought about my list much yet, I’m just enjoying the process right now. Michigan will be in there though.
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THE VIBE
5 – Trending Blue
4 – Solidly in a top 2-3
3 – Contender in a top 3-7
2 – Among large (8-15) group under consideration
1 – Let’s see if he visits before we talk
0 – Passing interest or none
Mikell was pretty clear about how much he likes Michigan and with a look at the rest of his offer list, the Wolverines are probably in decent shape with him on name alone. A strong visit to Ann Arbor this summer will go a long way in forming a hierarchy in his top group. Damien Harris and Mike Weber are far from certainties to end up at Michigan and a backup plan is definitely necessary. That being said, it will be interesting to see how aggressively Coach Heck and company recruit Lands-Davis to see how much of a “backup” he actually is.