UK Football Over/Unders: Leading Rusher
Ray Davis leads the UK backfield into fall camp after rushing for 2,497 yards during his time at Vanderbilt. (Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated)
Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated
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@JDrumUK
In the second volume of our preseason Over/Under feature, the Cats Illustrated staff takes a stab at projecting the leading rusher for Kentucky this season. There are a number of strong candidates for that honor and the Cats are expected to pass a lot more in 2023, so we're setting the over/under a little bit lower than what we typically see for a UK rushing leader: 850 yards in the regular season.
JUSTIN ROWLAND:
It's a great question because the offense should be more pass-happy than we've seen in a while, and there's a stable of backs with an open competition entering fall camp. It feels like the safest choice to lead the team in rushing is Ray Davis. He's done it in the SEC and he has proven durability and workload in a way that the other backs on the roster haven't yet. I will say that he ends up with just UNDER that number simply because the other backs (JuTahn McClain, Ramon Jefferson, La'Vell Wright, Jamarion Wilcox, Demie Sumo-Karngbaye) are going to be playing a lot and they'll be slinging the ball around more than usual. Kentucky fans have been very used to seeing big rushing totals in recent years, but the offense takes a step forward in spite of the lowered numbers here.
TRAVIS GRAF:
UNDER. This might be the most murky answer in terms of a player and the lowest preseason total at the running back spot in quite some time under Mark Stoops. There’s no bell-cow back, but Ray Davis is probably your man if you’re wanting to churn out yards. Because of this, I’ll go with him even though I don’t think he’s the most explosive guy in the room. In terms of explosive ability, I’m curious to see what a healthy Ramon Jefferson would look like in the SEC as well as freshman Jamarion Wilcox. If it’s not Ray Davis, I think the leading rusher would be JuTahn McClain, who would also go under the set number of 850. I expect Kentucky to have a balanced rushing attack and utilize players in a number of different ways in that position room.
JEFF DRUMMOND:
Like Justin and Travis, I'm going with Ray Davis, but I'm taking the OVER on this one. It may not be by a lot, but I see the former Vanderbilt standout leading the Cats with 850-1,000 yards rushing. There's a reason the staff jumped on Davis as soon as he entered the transfer portal. They saw his talent up close last year when he rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown in the Commodores' 24-21 upset at Kroger Field. That was one of four 100-yard rushing games for Davis in SEC play. He is a proven commodity. Davis is experienced, durable, and reliable. He may not get the carries that a Chris Rodriguez or a Benny Snell Jr. racked up, but I think he'll wind up getting the most opportunities. We always tend to think there are 5-6 good options at that spot entering fall camp -- and maybe there are this season -- but coaches typically like to see a true No. 1 emerge rather than rushing by committee.
