Should UK football’s Ray Davis be a Heisman candidate? He has a habit of beating the odds.

As a freshman at Temple, Ray Davis’ Twitter handle might have seemed like brash overconfidence.

Four years later, it does not seem nearly as unlikely. After watching Davis rush for 280 yards against Florida, it might even be considered foreshadowing.

When he began his college career, Davis went by “MrHeisman7” on Twitter. While he told The Philadelphia Inquirer at the time it was a reference to a nickname his prep school teammates bestowed on him and outlined plans to change his Twitter handle to something less flashy, Davis has never been a player shy of confidence.

But when his name began popping up on actual Heisman Trophy watch lists in the wake of his Florida performance, Davis had a different reaction.

“For about 30 minutes it was amazing,” Davis said. “Then I realized I have not done anything to be remotely close to that conversation. It’s about how am I going to be consistent? How am I going to be able to add on from this game? Saturday is over. We’re on to Tuesday. That’s all that matters.

“If after Saturday (against Georgia) I’m still in that conversation, I’ll enjoy it for 30 minutes and then I’ll get right back to trying to add on for Mizzou.”

The odds of Davis winning the Heisman are still slim. Kentucky would probably need to be a playoff contender for him to merit consideration. No running back has won the award since 2015. No UK player has ever won the award.

Davis knows plenty about beating the odds though.

The San Francisco native spent most of his childhood in foster care. After a godmother agreed to adopt Davis’ two younger siblings but not him, he spent time in a homeless shelter. The parents of a youth basketball teammate were eventually appointed his guardians. Davis’ father was awarded custody in time to let Davis move across the country to a prep school in New York in hopes of landing a football scholarship.

Now, the player who needed a postgraduate year at Blair Academy in New Jersey to qualify for NCAA eligibility has a degree from Vanderbilt. The running back who started his college career at Temple leads the Southeastern Conference in rushing yards.

In the wake of his Florida performance, in which he tied a school record with four total touchdowns and rushed for the third-most yards of any Kentucky player in a single game, Davis has won three national player of the week awards. Multiple national media outlets have written stories about him in advance of the No. 20 Wildcats’ game at No. 1 Georgia.

“He showed why he’s one of the best backs in the country,” offensive coordinator Liam Coen said.

Davis brushed off a question about how the increased attention has affected him this week — “I was famous for about 24 hours, now I’m just back to being Ray Davis,” he said — but if he continues to produce at this rate and Kentucky remains in the hunt for an SEC East title, the spotlight will only get brighter.

That starts this week at Georgia.

Kentucky has lost 13 consecutive games against Georgia but has been more competitive in recent meetings with the Bulldogs. Georgia has looked vulnerable in closer-than-expected wins over SEC foes South Carolina and Auburn.

“When you play games like this and play Georgia and there is good football around them, there are great individual plays and some great individual efforts as well,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said.

Davis will not be able to beat Georgia on his own, but Kentucky’s path to the upset becomes much easier to imagine with another big game from its star running back.

While Davis no longer goes by “Mr. Heisman” on Twitter, his drive has not changed. His goals are bigger than winning awards. He wants to make sure he does everything possible to help support his 14 siblings so they can avoid some of the hardships he endured.

That starts with performing on the football field, so it is probably time to ignore the odds when it comes to Davis. Maybe him winning a Heisman Trophy isn’t so crazy after all.

“I’m always thinking about what I can do to help put my family in the best position to succeed,” Davis said. “That goes on to what I’m doing on the field. If I’m not doing my job on the field, I can’t be successful for my family, I can’t put the things I need to put forth for them to succeed.”

Saturday

No. 20 Kentucky at No. 1 Georgia

When: 7 p.m.

TV: ESPN

Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1

Records: Kentucky 5-0 (2-0 SEC), Georgia 5-0 (2-0)

Series: Georgia leads 62-12-2

Last meeting: Georgia won 16-6 on Nov. 19, 2022, in Lexington

This story was originally published October 5, 2023 at 10:37 AM.

Jon Hale

Lexington Herald-Leader

(859) 414-6776

Jon Hale is the University of Kentucky football beat writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader. He joined the Herald-Leader in 2022 but has covered UK athletics for more than 10 years. Hale was named the 2021 Kentucky Sportswriter of the Year. Support my work with a digital subscription