Ray Davis, Kentucky Football News: Draft Scout Player News

02/24/23 - RB Ray Davis, rSr/2024, Kentucky

Ray Davis wants to make one thing perfectly clear about his role within Kentucky's football program: He's not Chris Rodriguez's heir. Rodriguez, who now is preparing for the NFL draft, left Kentucky with 3,644 career rushing yards, the third-best mark in school history behind Benny Snell (3,873) and Sonny Collins (3,835). But Davis is no stranger to notable feats. He spent the last two seasons at Vanderbilt where he became just the seventh player in the program's history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Long the SEC's weakest link, the Commodores went 7-17 overall, with two conference wins, during his time there. Other Power Five schools took notice of his production. And there were lessons in the losses, too. With the Wildcats, the fifth-year senior looks to use what he's learned to help bring a conference title back to Lexington - while continuing his journey of self improvement. "People want to say that I'm 'coming in to replace C-Rod.' I'm not coming in and replacing that," Davis told The Courier Journal in a recent phone interview. "You can't replace that. You can't replace someone who is going to be in the history books forever. All I can do is try to add to that."

Davis said he talked with 11 schools on his first official day in the transfer portal in early December and met with coaches from seven different universities the following week. For Davis, the notoriety was akin to a victory lap. Upon graduation from Trinity-Pawling School, an all-boys prep school in Pawling, New York, Davis' grades held him back. Between high school and his January arrival in Lexington, there were three stops for the now 23-year-old Davis: A post-grad year at Blair Academy in Blairstown, New Jersey, two seasons at Temple and the last two years at Vanderbilt. During his two seasons playing for the Owls, in 2019 and 2020, he rushed for 1,259 yards and nine touchdowns (on 271 attempts) and caught 27 passes for 243 yards and two scores in 16 games. - Courier Journal

rSr/2024