Could Ray Davis become the rare Kentucky running back to thrive in NFL with Buffalo Bills?

In just one season playing for Kentucky, Ray Davis broke the program’s single-season record for total touchdowns scored.

After being selected by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round (No. 128 overall) of the 2024 NFL draft, Davis can now shift his sights to becoming the most productive Wildcats running back as a professional. Much of Mark Stoops’ success at Kentucky has been built around a strong rushing attack, but stellar college production from star running backs Benny Snell and Chris Rodriguez has not yet carried over to the NFL.

Davis will certainly have to earn that distinction himself, but he received strong reviews during the predraft process and has a history of proving doubters wrong. In stops at Temple, Vanderbilt and Kentucky, Davis totaled 3,626 rushing yards and 41 touchdowns.

The Bills have an entrenched starter in former second-round pick James Cook, but there is little proven depth behind him, giving Davis the chance to earn an early spot in the rotation.

“I’m a guy who continues to go out there and get the job done,” Davis said at the NFL combine. “I’ve had to adapt to three different offenses, adapt to three different OCs and three different running back coaches, and I was able to be successful at every stop I was at. To have that many carries, I would say it’s a testament to those coaches trusting me and those coaches knowing they can put me on the field and get the job done.

“If people say my carries are too high, I would just say my coaches trusted me and they understand I have to go out there and get the job done. If it took one to two to five to 10 to 20 carries, that’s what I had to do to go help us win a game.”

Snell, who was also drafted in the fourth round, totaled 982 rushing yards in four seasons with the Steelers — he was not on a roster last season — but started just five games. Rodriguez appeared in 13 games as a rookie last season for the Commanders, totaling 247 yards and two touchdowns on 51 carries.

Only five former Kentucky players have topped 1,000 rushing yards in their NFL careers, and one of the players that did was quarterback Babe Parilli. Doug Kotar (3,380), Mark Higgs (2,959), Moe Williams (1,826) and Marc Logan (1,391) lead the way in career rushing yards among former UK running backs.

Williams and Logan are the only former Kentucky running backs to play in at least 100 NFL games.

Even making it to the point of being drafted was a long shot for Davis, who grew up in foster care and spent part of his childhood living in a homeless shelter. Eventually, the parents of a youth basketball teammate were appointed Davis’ guardians and helped his father, who had spent most of Davis’ childhood in prison, petition for custody in time to let Davis move across the country to attend a prep school in New York in hopes of landing a football scholarship.

Davis, 24, needed a postgraduate year at Blair Academy in New Jersey to even meet the academic requirements to be admitted to college, but now he holds a degree from Vanderbilt.

“There’s people who are going through some really hard situations,” Davis said at the combine. “I’m blessed to be here. A lot of people would be blessed to be here, so I’m going to continue to be that shining light for them to go out there and achieve my goals and dreams. Once I make it, when I make it, I’m going to go back so they have a platform too.”

In one season at Kentucky, Davis totaled 1,129 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns. Seven of those touchdowns came through the air, offering evidence Davis might be able to contribute as a pass-catcher in the NFL too.

That versatility keeping him on the field would increase the chances Davis passes Kotar (3,380) for most rushing yards by a former Wildcat in the NFL

“They’re going to get a guy that can play every down,” Stoops said at UK’s pro day of the team that drafts Davis. “He’s a three-down back, a very tough, great teammate. Great person. They’re going to get a heck of a player with Ray.”

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