Receiving Skills put Ray Davis in Rarified Air

When Kentucky fans learned Ray Davis was transferring from Vanderbilt, most expected the fifth-year running back to be a bruiser in-between the tackles. Through three games he’s proven that he can do that and so much more.

Through the first quarter of Kentucky’s 2023 campaign Davis is averaging 7.1 yards per carry (No. 3 in the SEC) while totaling 336 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. He’s also shown an ability to catch the football. Davis has more receiving yards than any other running back in the SEC, catching nine passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns.

“Coach Coen believed in me to be a pass-catcher out of the backfield,” Davis said after Saturday’s game. “My running back coach believes in me to be multi-dimensional, not just being a runner: catch the ball, block for my quarterback and get yards after catch. I’ll do whatever I have to do to put us in positions to win. If that’s running or catching the ball, that’s what it’s gotta be.”

Explosive Playmaking Ability

Ray Davis provides pop out of the backfield. No matter how he gets the ball, there’s a path to a big play. He has four runs of 20+ yards, the most in the SEC, and he has three receptions of 20+ yards, tied for the 13th in the conference.

On the opening play of Saturday’s 35-3 win over Akron, he took a screen pass 39 yards down the field. The drive-starter served as a catalyst for a Josh Kattus touchdown, the first of the tight end’s career. Later in the night Ray Davis created a SportsCenter Top 10 highlight by flipping the field for a 58-yard score. He also rushed for a 55-yard touchdown to do something no other Kentucky football player had ever done before.

With single-game records dating back to the 1940s, @Ray_Davis07 became the first player in program history to have a rushing and receiving touchdown of at least 50 yards in the same game 😱🤩 pic.twitter.com/t6H7c8l72f

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) September 19, 2023

More History on the Horizon for Ray Davis?

Throughout Kentucky football history, only a few running backs have also made their names as pass-catchers. Anthony White set the standard in the Air Raid. The running back caught 194 passes between 1996 and 1999. Only Craig Yeast and Derek Abney caught more passes during their Kentucky football careers.

If you break down White’s numbers, Davis is on pace to match White’s single-season production as a pass-catcher. In White’s most productive season, Tim Couch‘s last in Lexington, he caught 78 passes for 582 yards and a touchdown. Davis is on pace to tally 572 receiving yards. One can expect those numbers to slightly dip against SEC opponents, but these early returns are still remarkable.

Ray Davis takes his Medicine

Mark Stoops loved to see the big plays from his running back. For years the primary offseason talking point was placing an emphasis on creating more explosive plays. Davis has done checked that box, but what impressed his head coach more was Davis’ ability to take hard coaching after missing a few big runs vs. EKU.

“He played really good,” Stoops said Monday. “If you read between the lines last week, I didn’t say any one player, but we had some holes and we got a little greedy. It created some negative plays when they were there for him.

“He’s very mature and very coachable, has great vision most of the time.  With him, we pointed that out in game two, and he’s an easy fix. He’s one of those guys and kind of fixes himself. He takes great pride in doing things and the details right. He generally has great vision anyway. I watched our defensive side enough already this week, too, from last year’s game and he had some great patience and some really good runs.”

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