Rivals100 running back Mike Davis of Stone Mountain (Ga.) Stephenson said he made a silent commitment several weeks ago. On Friday night, he decided to go public with his pledge.

"I committed to South Carolina," Davis, a U.S. Army All-American, told Rivals.com.

Originally, Davis had planned to wait until signing day to announce his choice. But during his official visit to Columbia, he felt the time was right to let the world know where he was headed.

"I'm sick of the recruiting process," Davis admitted.

Until early December, the 5-foot-10, 200-pound Davis was a Florida commit. But one week after Davis made an unofficial to Gainesville for the Gators' game against Florida State, he decided to back away from that pledge.

Within days, several schools contacted him. Georgia offered. So did Oklahoma. Davis took an unofficial to Georgia, and made officials to both Florida State and Tennessee. In the end, he said he chose the Gamecocks over the Bulldogs and Volunteers.

"You know, some people don't know, South Carolina stayed on me all the time - even when I was committed to Florida," Davis said. "I actually was silently committed. I did it [not long] after I de-committed from Florida. My family already knew about it. Everyone is happy for me. My whole family is happy."

Davis is the third Stephenson player in this class to pick the Gamecocks, joining safety Kyle Fleetwood and defensive tackle Carlos Hood

Davis, who rushed for more than 1,900 yards in 2011, arrived in Columbia for his official visit Thursday night.

"It's going great," he said. "I'm having a good time. I already have friends up here, and my teammates."

Of Georgia and Tennessee, Davis said, "Those guys were right there."

Adding intrigue to his commitment is this: Davis' older brother, James, was a standout running back at Clemson.

Keith Niebuhr can be reached at Keithrivals@yahoo.com. You can follow him on Twitter @KeithRIVALS.

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