Kentucky running back Ray Davis declares for NFL draft, opts out of bowl game

Kentucky football will play its 2023 bowl game without its most effective offensive player.

Running back Ray Davis announced Monday he was beginning his professional career after breaking UK’s single-season record for touchdowns scored (20) in the regular season finale upset of Louisville. Davis finished his one season at Kentucky ranked third in the SEC in rushing yards (1,066).

In his final game as a Wildcat, Davis totaled 76 rushing yards, 51 receiving yards and three touchdowns in the upset of No. 10 Louisville.

“To the Big Blue Nation, thank you for showing me the best parts of college football,” Davis posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “To the coaches and staff at Kentucky, thank you for allowing me to fine tune my skills and grow as a young man. To my teammates, you will forever be my family.”

Davis also thanked Vanderbilt and Temple in his farewell message. He began his career at Temple before transferring to Vanderbilt. At Vanderbilt, Davis helped the Commodores snap their long SEC losing streak by upsetting Kentucky last season.

He transferred to UK after the 2022 season, enrolling in January.

After Davis rushed for 280 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Florida this season, he gained national attention for his unusual path to Southeastern Conference football.

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.

Davis needed a postgraduate year at Blair Academy in New Jersey to qualify for NCAA eligibility, but he eventually earned a diploma from Vanderbilt.

“This has always been a dream of mine and is a challenge I’m ready to take on,” Davis wrote of declaring for the NFL draft. “Forever the underdog.”

Transfer portal update

As of early Tuesday afternoon, three of this season’s Wildcats had made it known they planned to enter the NCAA transfer portal, which does not open officially until Dec. 4. Here is a look at those three:

Wide receiver Dekel Crowdus: Once viewed as a key piece in the future of Kentucky’s offense, Crowdus was never able to recover from a season-ending knee injury he suffered during preseason camp as a freshman. By the time he returned to the field in 2021, Kentucky had added wide receivers Barion Brown, Dane Key and Tayvion Robinson to the roster. In two seasons as a backup to those players, Crowdus, a Lexington native and former Frederick Douglass High School standout, totaled four catches for 82 yards. He did not catch a pass this season while appearing in 10 games.

Nose guard Jamarius Dinkins: After playing only sparingly for most of his first two seasons on campus, Dinkins emerged as a rotation piece on the defense line late in the 2022 season as a redshirt freshman. He played a key role in a goal-line stop against No. 1 Georgia then recorded his first sack a week later against Louisville. Dinkins was blocked from a larger role in 2023 though when Kentucky signed former five-star recruit Keeshawn Silver in the transfer portal at his position. As a sophomore, Dinkins totaled nine tackles with one tackle for loss in 11 games.

Safety Jalen Geiger: A graduate transfer, Geiger’s Kentucky career was derailed by injuries. He appeared in 35 games with four starts across five seasons. Geiger opened the 2023 season as one of Kentucky’s starting safeties, but he suffered a season-ending patella tendon injury in his left knee in Week 2. By the time Geiger returned to the field in 2023, Jordan Lovett had taken over his starting job. Geiger totaled nine tackles in 10 games this season. Geiger was limited for much of the second half of the season by an arm injury. He scored two touchdowns in his UK career, one on an interception in 2021 and another on a fumble recovery in the 2023 season opener.

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