Indianapolis (Ind.) Ben Davis defensive back Daylan Carnell narrowed his list of scholarship offers down to a top three of Missouri, Purdue and West Virginia in early April. Monday the four-star prospect revealed he was headed to the SEC and committing to Missouri.
“The relationship I had with the coaches was second-to-none,” Carnell said. “I have a relationship with five coaches – coach (DJ) Smith the linebackers coach, the three DB coaches and coach Drink (Eliah Drinkwitz). That played a big part.
“No other school had more than two coaches recruiting me. I had five from (Missouri).”
Missouri had actually offered Carnell as a sophomore when the previous coaching staff was in charge. He was unable to visit the program until this past March, however, days before the NCAA initiated the current recruiting dead period.
“That was the start of me really diving in and being interested in Mizzou,” Carnell said. “If I wouldn’t have visited, I probably wouldn’t have considered them. When I got there, I was in a defensive back meeting and I could see myself in the system. I just liked how the coaches coached.”
A versatile athlete who started his recruitment as both a wide receiver and defensive back prospect, Carnell expects to fill in at either cornerback or safety as needed.
“They told me they will cross-train me, but will start me off at corner and see what happens from there,” Carnell said.
An August decision had been the timeline for Carnell throughout much of this off-season so that he could take spring official visits. When the NCAA extended the recruiting dead period out until July 31, however, that eliminated Carnell’s chances to official visit his top schools before August.
Carnell is the second four-star commitment for Missouri in 2021 and the tenth commitment overall for a class that now ranks eighth in the SEC. He plans to graduate early and enroll at the University next January.
