Kirby Smart compares Kentucky RB Ray Davis to D'Andre Swift

Georgia went toe to toe with an SEC opponent that runs the ball more than any other team in the conference last weekend when they squared off with Auburn on Saturday, defeating the Tigers 27-20. And this weekend their defensive front will have their work cut out for them again as they face the league’s leading rusher.

Kentucky running back Ray Davis leads all SEC rushers with 594 yards and eight rushing touchdowns through five games this season, and as the Bulldogs look ahead to their matchup versus him, head coach Kirby Smart was asked if the play of Davis or his offensive line has contributed to his success.

“It’s both, I mean he’s an exceptional back, as good a back as I’ve seen in a long time,” Smart admitted. “This guy’s smooth, explosive, he pass protects really well, he protects the ball.”

Davis spent the first two seasons of his collegiate career at Temple followed by a two-year run at Vanderbilt before joining the Wildcats this offseason. He’s fresh off of a monster game where he rushed for a jaw-dropping career-high 280 yards on the ground with three touchdowns against Florida, earning SEC Player of the Week honors and coming just 19 yards away from Kentucky’s single-game record.

There’s no doubt Davis has been impressive lately, so much so that he reminds Smart of one of his former players who’s been impressing on Sundays lately.

“He’s aggressive in the way he runs, he reminds me of [D’Andre] Swift he’s just a little bigger. But he has a lot of the same cuts, one cut runner. And they do a tremendous job now of blocking for him, so it’s not all him, I mean he has a run game,” Smart said.

The Wildcats regularly have a star running back that compliments their play style and gives defenses nightmares, and it’s clear that Davis is the next in line as he’s already drawn some positive comparisons from an opposing head coach early in the week.

“It seems like Kentucky’s always had a back right? They had Benny [Snell] who was unbelievably, then they had the kid from Georgia [Chris Rodriguez] the last couple years. Their backs run really physical, but they are committed to running the ball and they do a great job at the point of attack,” Smart concluded.

Ray Davis has helped lead Kentucky to a 5-0 start, joining only Missouri and Georgia as the remaining unbeaten teams in the SEC. But that all changes this Saturday as the Wildcats visit the Bulldogs in Athens in a matchup kicking off at 7:00 p.m. ET and airing on ESPN.