"I made some history there." New Wildcat Ray Davis ready to face old team

Ray Davis will go down as one of Vanderbilt’s all-time greatest running backs. He finished the 2022 season with 1,042 rushing yards, good enough for ninth-most in school history. The San Francisco native cracked an All-SEC Team and was even named a semifinalist for Comeback Player of the Year (he missed nine games in 2021 due to a knee injury). And oh yeah, he ran for 129 yards and a touchdown against Kentucky in what was Vanderbilt’s first win against the Wildcats since 2015.

But now, the roles for Davis are reversed. He transferred to UK for his final year of college eligibility and will go up against his old team on Saturday afternoon in front of a fanbase where he did things like run for 167 yards and a touchdown against South Carolina, or rattled off 122 yards against the Florida Gators. FirstBank Stadium was home to Davis for two years — in a few days, he’ll be the enemy, but in his mind, this is no different than any another football game.

“It’s not Ray Davis versus Vanderbilt. It’s Kentucky football versus Vanderbilt,” Davis told reporters on Tuesday. “That’s the kind of mindset I’ve been able to have and just attacking like a normal game. Not trying to get too high, not trying to get too low, just staying on an even front.

“It’s exciting definitely to get on the field and see those guys and warm up and have convos with them pregame but once the game starts all that friendship is gone. They’re competitors, we’re trying to win a game and they’re trying to win a game. I don’t think there will be much love during the game but after the game, I think we’ll be able to express some love after that.”

Winning will be at the forefront of Davis’ mind, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be some feelings involved. He was part of the team for two seasons, developing close bonds with coaches and teammates. If it weren’t for his help, Vanderbilt wouldn’t have won five games for the first time since 2018 or beaten Florida for the first time since 2013.

“I made some history there,” Davis said. “So just being on that field again and knowing I’m forever cemented there and just knowing that it will be emotional, but at the end of the day I’m trying to go out there and get a win. I’m not on Vanderbilt no more. I play for Kentucky and that’s kinda all that matters.”

still got a lot more left. haven’t done nothing yet 🫡 https://t.co/DMvNqzH2Aw

— Re'Mahn Davis (@Ray_Davis07) September 19, 2023

And thank goodness he does play for Kentucky. Through three games — all wins — Davis has accounted for 236 yards on the ground (on 7.2 yards per carry) and three touchdowns in addition to another 143 yards as a receiver and two more touchdowns through the air. He’s been even better than advertised — and there was plenty of hype surrounding his arrival in Lexington. It makes the loss of Chris Rodriguez to the NFL easier to take in.

“Ray is a good player. He was good when he was here,” Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea said of his former running back on Tuesday. “He’s got good vision, good feet. He’s got a knack for finding the space, he’s got a knack for knowing when to cut back and get against the grain and break the long one. He’s also a really good receiver in the pass game and we saw that when he was here. And I see that not only are they using him as a check-down option, but they’re also designing catches for him in the offense, which I think is really smart, because he can do that.”

Lea would assuredly prefer to have Davis still running the ball in a Vanderbilt uniform, but he also can’t ignore what Davis did to improve the football program.

Lea not bitter about Davis’ departure

Although Vanderbilt got the better of Kentucky in last year’s matchup, there’s no denying that the Wildcats have been a superior program over the last 50 years. It’s why Davis transferring from the Commodores to the Wildcats was viewed as a step up for him. But on the flip side, players like Davis are what help a program break through to that hard-to-reach next level.

Losing him to another team in the same conference was surely a tough pill to swallow for Vanderbilt and head coach Clark Lea, but this isn’t the same college football we knew five years ago. Players transfer. This is just how the world works now.

“I don’t think that we can be surprised by anything anymore,” Lea said of Davis transferring to UK. “I think that’s college football in 2023 and I’m happy for him that he found a home, is having success, and is excited to compete on Saturday. But we’re just not going to be worried about that or be bothered by that. It is what it is.

“We sat down and talked about it,” Lea added. “There’s always layers to things that I don’t know that I need to talk about now but it was a great conversation. And at that point he was exploring options and one of which was an NFL future and then the possibility of playing his last year of eligibility somewhere else. I supported the decision and just like I do anytime, my job is to not control but to support, to be behind young people as they try to plot their way in life and have the best experience they can. It was a good conversation and I look forward to seeing him on Saturday.”

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