TORONTO — The University at Buffalo expected safety Davonte Shannon to eventually make an impact when they signed him out of Jeannette, Pa., two years ago. But no one could have reasonably anticipated Shannon would potentially blossom into one of the best players in school history.

UB didn’t have anyone who was named first team All-Mid-American Conference until Shannon made it last season as a true freshman. He also made it again this season as a sophomore. UB didn’t have anyone during its Football Bowl Subdivision era to record back-to-back 100-tackle seasons until Shannon hit the mark with nine solos in the upset over Ball State.

“I didn’t know he would stand out as much as he has,” said UB coach Turner Gill. “But, man, he has all the skills. He has them both mentally and physically and I think now he understands the overall role of everything and he will become a better leader because of the experience.”

The scary part is Shannon is only a sophomore and has two more seasons to develop into an elite performer.

“I never thought it would be this quick where people are talking about the NFL and being a first team all-league player two years in a row,” said the 6-foot, 193-pound Shannon. “But it’s great to be a contributor on a championship team.”

His athleticism and physical play are the reasons UB heavily recruited Shannon. They also loved the way he relied on an intuitive sense of where the ball is heading. But he wasn’t pursued by many schools — programs like Syracuse and Toledo showed lukewarm interest — and Shannon actually had to promote himself. He sent videotapes to several schools, including UB, and received a call within days from Bulls defensive ends coach Brian Mohnsen, who also recruits in Pennsylvania.

“He was always sticking his nose into someone,” Mohnsen said. “It was pretty easy to identify his athletic ability on tape.”

Looking back, it’s surprising Shannon was overlooked. Recruiters traditionally flock to Westmoreland County and considering that high school phenom Terrell Pryor, who eventually signed with Ohio State, is from the area makes it hard to believe a bigger school didn’t notice Shannon.

“I was a little shocked,” Mohnsen said. “Everyone from across the country recruits there and there are a lot of diamonds in the rough. If you don’t work very diligently, you’re going to miss kids. In my opinion, someone missed on him.”

Shannon’s transition from high school to college wasn’t without growing pains. Initially, he was overwhelmed by the speed of the game and starting on the scout team was another new experience.

“During training camp I was like, ‘I don’t know if I can do this,’ it was way different than high school,” Shannon said. “I didn’t think about quitting because I don’t quit anything but I thought about my future and I talked to my dad a lot and he told me to get my priorities straight.”

He started playing better in practice and eventually began moving up the depth chart. By the fifth game of his true freshman season, at Ball State, Shannon was in the starting lineup at strong safety and has been there ever since.

“I got a chance to play and I took advantage of it,” he said.

Shannon now has 106 tackles for the season after racking up 123 as a true freshman to join Shane Currey, Mike Laipple, Dale Worrall and Craig Guest as the only UB players since 1970 to have more than one season of over 100 tackles.

“I don’t want to sound cocky, but I just don’t want to be known as the best defensive player at UB,” Shannon said. “I want to be the best player at UB. That’s what I’m striving for.”

The Bulls practiced for the first time at the Rogers Centre for two hours Tuesday afternoon and are scheduled to practice there again today. The session is closed to the public.