GALION — Something special is brewing at Western Michigan University and Galion’s LaCario Davison wants in.
A senior receiver and safety, Davison verbally committed to the Broncos after visiting the Kalamazoo, Mich. campus over the weekend. He is the 23rd member of WMU’s 2015 recruiting class.
“They have got a good thing going right now,” said Davison, a three-star recruit and the No. 40 prospect in Ohio according to rivals.com. “I really like the coaching staff and their facilities are as good as some of the Big Ten schools.”
Second-year head coach P.J. Fleck assembled what some analysts called the top recruiting class in Mid-American Conference history last year. It was considered the highest ranking recruiting class among non-BCS schools, according to rivals.com.
Preliminary reports indicate the 2015 class will be every bit as strong.
“I love coach Fleck and what he is doing,” Davison said. “I’m excited to be a part of WMU.”
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Davison also was drawing interest from Big Ten schools Purdue and Illinois, as well as several MAC schools. Western Michigan was the first to offer.
“It’s such a relief to make the decision,” Davison said. “All the stress is gone. Now I can focus on the rest of my senior season.”
The Tigers are 3-1 heading into tonight’s Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference Red Division showdown with perennial heavyweight Jonathan Alder. Davison ranks among area leaders with 21 receptions and 40 tackles.
“We play him at strong safety and he’s our Troy Polamalu,” Galion coach Chris Hawkins said in reference to the Pittsburgh Steelers eight-time Pro Bowler and 2010 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. “Cario loves to bring the wood.”
Western Michigan lost its opener at Purdue but has won two straight going into Saturday’s match-up at Virginia Tech. The Broncos were just 1-11 last year and finished last in the MAC West Division at 1-7. WMU has won only two MAC championships in program history, the most recent coming in 1988.
The affable Davison said he had plenty to work on before arriving on campus next fall. Western Michigan will host Michigan State in the season opener on Sept. 4 and pay a visit to Ohio State on Sept. 26.
“I’ll need to get bigger and stronger and faster. Division I football is a whole different world,” Davison said. “They want to use me as a hybrid linebacker and safety and they like how I fly to the ball. The guy who is playing that position for them this year is a senior, so there’s a chance I could come in and contribute right away. They like to play a lot of their young guys.”
Before he heads north, Davison would like to cap his high school career in style. The Tigers have qualified for the playoffs each of the past two years and were third in the Division IV, Region 12 ratings, released by the Ohio High School Athletic Association earlier this week. The top eight teams in each region qualify for the postseason.
“We’re in a good spot right now, but there is still a lot of football to play,” Davison said. “The MOAC is a lot tougher than the league we used to be in (the now defunct North Central Conference) but I think we can handle it.”
