Interview: 4-Star 2021 CB Jaylin Davies Dishes on Bosco Win and Recruiting

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @RyanWrightRNG

While millions of sports fans in Southern California were geeked about the opening of the NBA season seeing LeBron James square off against Kwai Leonard, another million something high school fans in the same area were equally excited about the showdown on Friday seeing No. 1 nationally ranked Mater Dei travel to No. 3 St. John Bosco for a Trinity League battle royal in a game filled with five-, four-, and three-star recruiting talents. The game was not a letdown with fantastic plays produced on both sides seeing the Monarchs stay unbeaten on the year (9-0) in a 38-24 win over the Braves (8-1). One of the standout talents in the game was four-star Mater Dei cornerback Jaylin Davies (6-0, 175) showing he could cover any type of receiver, big and tall, short and fast, and all in between.

Apart from the annual league meeting this match-up has been revisited in the post-season dictating not only the California state championship winner but also since the national champs since 2017, favoring Mater Dei, with another meeting seemingly waiting to happen in 2019. To get an inside post-game perspective, I caught up with the 18-offer corner for his thoughts on the game with a quick overview on his recruiting prospects.

*Click link for July 15, 2019, RNG video interview with Jaylin Davies

Interview

Jaylin, the Monarchs pulled through again in another tough showdown topping then- No. 3 St. John Bosco 38-24. How did the game go for you?

“Personally, I was focused. We were focused on our game and putting them away early. We felt like we had the advantage.”

Bosco is always loaded, and is again so this year especially in their receiving corps. Who did you cover on Friday?

“I covered everyone, (4-star – 2021) Beaux Collins, (4-star – 2020) Kris Hutson (Oregon), (4-star – 2020) Logan Loya, and (3-star – 2021) Jode McDuffie.”

How does covering top four- and three-star players like that help push your game to the next level?

“It keeps me focused guarding people like that. I know I cannot give them anything.”

In which ways are you seeing your overall game improve this season?

“More so with my leadership by helping the younger guys. If they mess up or need help, I am there for them. I have improved on my tackling and being more aggressive. I am bigger now; I can hit harder. My play recognition has improved a lot. With my experience, I know things before they happen.”

With recruiting, which schools are showing interest but have not offered yet?

“Washington is showing a lot of interest, Washington State, Clemson, Texas A&M, and Notre Dame are showing interest as well.”

The offer total, how high has that gotten?

“Up to 17 offers.”

**Davies has 18 offers; Washington offered after the interview

Davies Offer Sheet: Alabama, Arizona, Auburn, Cal, Florida State, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA, USC, Utah, and Washington

Nice. Which school was the last to offer you?

“Cal was the last school to offer me.”

How did they offer you?

“Coach (Gerald) Alexander (DB) offered me over the phone.”

What did Coach Alexander have to say about your skills as to why they were offering you?

“He told me he likes how I don’t back down from anyone and that I keep going all game.”

Agreed. Are you visiting any schools coming up?

“I was supposed to go to Washington but that fell through. I am trying to get to Alabama for the LSU game.”

That will be the game of the year. What has you pumped about visiting Alabama?

“The atmosphere at Alabama is what I am excited to see. I have been talking to the coaches for a while now, trying to work a time to get out there.”

Backtracking here, you mentioned your leadership with the younger guys earlier; how is that coming along?

“They are great. Domani Jackson (2022) is coming along. He is physical and stays on them all game. He stayed with Logan Loya all game; they thought he could not guard him. Cameron Sidney stayed on Jode McDuffie all game too. They know what we are capable of now.”

The Monarchs are looking unbeatable this season with one regular season game left but still have a gauntlet of really tough games left in the playoffs. What do you guys have to do to close out with a third consecutive national championship?

“We have to stay focused, play our game, and don’t get too big-headed thinking we got everything won already.”

Wise. Jaylin, always great talking to you. Congratulations on the big win and good luck going forward.

“Thank you.”

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Photo credit: Davies family; Jaylin Davies at USC and Clemson