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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

sports football

Q&A with IU commit DaVondre Love

DaVondre Love committed to the Hoosiers after his official visit Sunday. The IDS caught up with Love over the phone to talk about his recruitment and future.

IDS: Obviously today is a huge day for you, being able to commit to your school. What does it feel like to say you’re a Hoosier?

Love : It just feels so great because obviously going to college period has been something I’ve been working for, for a while, a long time, all my life basically. And then going to be a Division I football player is a dream. I’m just glad that dream is coming true and all that hard work is paying off.

It’s amazing. It’s just a great feeling.

IDS: How did you know Indiana would be the place for you? Was there a particular moment when you knew?

Love: I actually went to my official visit this weekend. I had a pretty good feeling about everything and if it all went well, I felt like I would be committing. I came in, met players and coaches, and they just treated me like family. It was really an at-home atmosphere. I already felt like I was a part of the family. Now I actually am.

They just made me feel like I really belonged there. Like, I could easily fit in. Throughout this whole weekend there were a few moments they just made me feel great about it. So I’m pretty excited, just glad to have had those moments.

IDS: Were there any players in particular that you talked to that stood out?

Love: My host was (freshman offensive lineman) Delroy Baker. I hung out at his dorm and his roommate is actually (freshman linebacker) Tegray Scales, so I got to talk to him.

(Sophomore lineman) Dan Feeney, I talked to him. (Junior lineman) Jason Spriggs. I was around a lot of O-linemen, and there were a few other players that, but there are so many guys that I’m not good with the names yet. But there were a few other guys that I got to talk to, and just being around the players and what they say about the University and what they say and everything, I just heard some good things from everybody that I talked to.

IDS: What coaches have you been talking with?

Love: The guy that mainly recruited me was the O-line coach, Coach (Greg) Frey. But then it was actually (linebackers coach William) Inge who recruited me around St. Louis because he’s actually from the area. And then Coach (James) Patton talked to me a lot, too, whenever those guys weren’t around.

I talked with Coach (Kevin) Wilson a lot on the visit. They were just always really open and honest with me. They always said where they stood with me and how things are going to be in this process and what to expect when I do commit to them and what to expect when we’re ready to play.

They were always just very honest, and that’s something that’s pretty hard to come by during this recruiting process. A lot of these recruiters will tell you things and make you promises and not going through with them or they stop recruiting you without an explanation or anything. I just like how they were always honest with you. They hid nothing from me, and that was just great.

IDS: What were the coaches saying about the way they envisioned your future?

Love: They just said that they’re there to coach me and mold me, but ultimately where I go, that’s on me. As long as I’m willing to work with them and give them maximum effort, my potential, there’s no limit to it. I can do whatever it is because I’m willing to put in the effort academically and physically. They told me they will do whatever they can, but ultimately it will be up to myself.

I really bought into that. I thought that was really cool. It’s honestly on me. They’re just there to help.

IDS: You’re obviously a big guy at 6-foot-7, 290 pounds. How does that help you? You bring a unique size to the line.

Love: My size, it gives me a lot of leverage. I’ve got these long arms and I can keep guys off me and keep guys from getting into me or getting off blocks. It’s definitely an asset. It was kind of a hassle when I was younger and growing into this body, but you get used to it. I was clumsy and everything but I’ve gotten a lot better working with my body and taking advantage of it.

With the long arms, I move this body pretty well. The size and that, it has a lot of strength. It sometimes gets to me, but at the same time, I know that if I didn’t have it, there would be a lot of opportunities that probably wouldn’t have come my way if it wasn’t for my size, so the size helps out in a lot of ways.

IDS: You’re from St. Louis, so did you happen to watch IU upset Missouri earlier this year?

Love: I did watch that. It was a good game. I remember just being shocked because obviously being from Missouri, I was kind of a Mizzou fan. IU kind of took me by storm. Actually, both teams were kind of, I had gotten stuff from IU but they weren’t really on me yet, and Mizzou was kind of recruiting me, too, so of course I tuned in. I just remember being shocked and I remember being excited and saying, “I wonder what’s going to happen with this Indiana team?” I just remember thinking that.

After that game I looked up Indiana and their schedule and everything. I remember looking at their record and seeing inconsistencies, and in the future, Indiana is going to be a force to be reckoned with. They might not have had the best season, but they’re steadily improving. I think with everything going on right now and in recruiting, in the near future Indiana will be one of the best teams in the country. I honestly believe that. I’m pretty excited about it.

IDS: Were you aware of the other commitments IU had picked up today? We’ve already seen two other guys commit, and Marqui Hawkins committed earlier this week.

Love: I had actually talked to a couple of the guys that had committed today. Isaac (James), he’s actually not too far from IU, and he was telling me he was pretty close. He kind of liked what I liked. I kind of knew he was leaning toward it. I just didn’t know he was going to do it today.

It has been a pretty big day for recruits. I’m pretty excited. The recruiting class that we’re bringing in, it’s going to be good. That’s why I think Indiana is definitely going to be something in the future.

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