Blue White Illustrated

good things right now, leading the [Pa- triots] to a Super Bowl. I like everything he speaks for, and I'm trying to be part of everything he's doing at Penn State." Laurent was named a New Jersey All-Prep selection by The Trentonian and was given a two-star rating by Ri- vals. PHIL'S ANALYSIS Laurent played both ways at The Hun School, contributing at defensive tackle and offensive guard. It's likely that he will begin his college career at center. He has excel- lent feet and a low center of gravity – qualities that will help him excel in the middle of the offensive line. Expect him to be redshirted in 2012. Eugene LEWIS WR, 6-2, 181 Plymouth, Pa. Wyoming Valley West High Lewis had plenty of opportunities to check out other programs following Joe Paterno's dismissal in November, but the Rivals250 wide receiver always wanted to be a Nittany Lion. Both Ore- gon and Florida made a serious push to convince him to take a look at what they had to offer, and he was tempt- ed, as the search for Paterno's replace- ment dragged on. But in the end, Lewis' comfort with the school kept him from ever visiting any other programs. "Growing up in Pennsylvania, Penn State is the school that you grow up watching," he said. "With everything that's taken place lately, I'm looking U P C L O S E & P E R S O N A L BY RYAN SNYDER Blue White Illustrated at a major-conference program with a reputation like Penn State's. As a 5-foot-7, 120-pound 15-year- T old, Davis didn't have the physical na- ture that Calvert Hall assistant coach Cory Robinson liked to see in his de- fensive backs. Davis needed to grow both physically and mentally, and as he approached his sophomore year at the Towson, Md., high school, it looked as though he was headed back to the junior varsity. "Quan was a guy who was, for the most part, a marginal football player," Robinson said. "He wasn't the fastest, wasn't overly athletic, he kind of lacked the toughness you need at the time. We just really didn't see any signs of him being special coming out of youth ball and after his freshman year." But things changed quickly only a few games into his sophomore year. Davis was thrown into the mix after several players in the Calvert Hall sec- ondary were injured. After two loss- es to start the season, Davis began to 16 M A R C H 2 , 2 0 1 2 After a quiet start, Maryland defensive back Da'Quan Davis grows into a big-time prospect THE DAVIS FILE A DEVELOPING STORY hree years ago, Da'Quan Davis nev- er thought he would get the chance to play Division I football, let alone S T A T I S T I C S Finished with 48 tackles, six interceptions and 15 pass break-ups during senior season at Calvert Hall. H O N O R S Was named All-Metro by The Baltimore Sun. ... Represented Baltimore in the 2011 Crab Bowl. Quan. He basically said that this kid could play in the SEC, so that's prob- ably the first time I really realized that Da'Quan had potential to be a big-time prospect." From that point forward, Davis nev- Photo courtesy of Davis family see playing time during a five-game stretch in which the team's defense posted two shutouts and surren- dered only 24 points total. Not only was the team winning again, but Davis was building confidence and playing well. Once the upperclassmen started getting healthy, Davis went back to his previous role, playing mostly on spe- cial teams, but his time in the spotlight may have been a blessing in dis- guise, as it fed what he called his "thirst to get better." "I just worked so hard in the weight room the past few years," Davis said. "Even since my senior year ended, I can't really remember a day where I took off. I was never the biggest kid, and I'm still not really the biggest, but I've learned that with hard work, you can overcome anything. I really think this offer and where I'm at now proves that." Robinson was one of the first to rec- ognize Davis' hard work. "The way that kid committed that off- season [before his junior year], it was incredible," he said. "Toward the end of that off-season, we took him and some of the guys down to South Car- olina, and he worked out there and was just phenomenal. The defensive back coach at the time, who's now the [Gamecocks'] defensive coordinator, Lorenzo Ward, he fell in love with er stopped working. He grew a bit taller, but it was his work in the weight room that helped him add more than 40 pounds over his high school career. With the help of his coaches, Davis became a much more physical cornerback as time went on. He also benefitted from his friendship with teammate Adrian Amos, a Calvert Hall defensive back who went on to sign with Penn State last year. "Adrian was the first guy I met when I started coming to summer workouts out of middle school," Davis said. "He showed me the ropes, how to work hard and become a better play- er. I really looked up to him as a big brother at the time, and he played a big part in me picking Penn State. "That chemistry we built over the years at Calvert Hall, it's going to be great for us to be able to build on that. I think it's really going to help me tran- sition, and I can't wait to continue working hard. Now that we're playing together in college, in the same second- ary, it's just unreal." W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M forward to carrying on all those tradi- tions that PSU is known for. "I'm also looking forward to helping the program get back to that next lev- el, winning a national championship." After playing quarterback the past two seasons, Lewis is also excited about playing what he calls his "nat- ural position" – wide receiver. He said he is eager to play for one of the top wide receivers coaches in the country, Stan Hixon. "Coach Hixon is great," Lewis said. "He's got a of couple years' experience

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