Ray Davis (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops really didn’t want Ray Davis to score on a 30-yard run on UK’s last play in Saturday’s 44-14 win over Ball State.
“We normally would never try to run plays there, but we had so few plays that we just need to get better. We need to improve. So we’re out there running a few plays at the end and try to just hand it off and get out of the game there at the end and he breaks one off,” Stoops said about Davis’ score with only six seconds left in the game.
The Vanderbilt transfer ran 14 times for 112 yards and two scores in his UK debut. It was his 10th 100-yard game — he had one against UK last year — and his fourth in his last five games. He became the first UK player with 100 yards and two touchdowns rushing in a season opener since Benny Snell in 2018 and first UK player with 100 yards and two touchdowns rushing in his UK debut since Braylon Heard in 2014.
“I thought he had some really impressive runs, and not always the longer ones. I thought just he gave us a nice dimension of — they had some guys dropping down the hole and they’re physical,” Stoops said. “They made a couple of misses, and just getting those extra four, five, six, seven, 10 yards sometimes is a big deal.
“We know he’s physical and tough and has good vision. But he can also make people miss.”
Davis credited his offensive line for his success.
“All props go to my O-Line. I’m going to name all of those guys: [Kenneth] Horsey, Eli [Cox], Marques [Cox], Jager [Burton], [Jeremy] Flax, and Courtland [Ford]. The reason why I end up in the end zone is because of those five guys, and if I’m blessed to keep ending in the end zone, it is because of those five guys,” Davis said.
Davis has preached he’s willing to do whatever it takes to win whether it is running the ball, catching passes, or blocking.
“I’m going to continue to do what I’ve got to do. As long as coach [Liam] Coen believes in me and trusts in me, and the team believes in me and trusts in me, I’m going to go out there and continue to keep executing and try to get better each and every day,” he said.
He thought the “energy was live” at Kroger Field and appreciated the atmosphere fans created.
“It definitely fed into our team and gave us energy. It was a slow start, but as the fans started to get into it, I think that we started to turn it up a little bit more and have a little bit of fun and become ourselves,” Davis said.
“It was electrifying and a lot different than what I had been used to in my years of playing football. It was exciting to see the crown stick with us from the start to the end.”
