Georgia HC praises Kentucky's Ray Davis, compares him to NFL RB

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart knows a thing or two about great running backs.

He's coached the likes of Nick Chubb, D'Andre Swift and Sony Michel, who all played for him with the Bulldogs. When he was an assistant coach for Nick Saban at Alabama, he saw the likes of Eddie Lacy, T.J. Yeldon, Trent Richardson, Mark Ingram and Derrick Henry rush for the Crimson Tide.

The point is that when Smart says you're a good running back, you're a good running back. He developed that price plus more for the running back his team will be facing this upcoming college football weekend: Kentucky's Ray Davis.

"He’s an exceptional back, as good a back as I’ve seen in a long time,” Smart said in a recent news conference (h/t On3). “This guy’s smooth, explosive, he pass protects really well, he protects the ball.”

In five games this season, the 5-foot-10, 216-pound senior has rushed 76 times for 594 yards and eight touchdowns. He's also caught 11 passes for 146 yards and three touchdowns. Davis was integral in Kentucky's 33-14 upset over No. 22 Florida this past weekend. He rushed for 280 yards and three touchdowns against the Gators while adding another touchdown through the air.

Davis is so good, in Smart's view, that he compared him to one of the running backs mentioned above: Former Georgia running back and current Philadelphia Eagle, D'Andre Swift.

“He’s aggressive in the way he runs, he reminds me of [D’Andre] Swift he’s just a little bigger. But he has a lot of the same cuts, one cut runner. And they do a tremendous job now of blocking for him, so it’s not all him, I mean he has a run game,” Smart said.

Drafted in the second round by the Detroit Lions in 2020, Swift is thought of as one of the better all-purpose backs in the NFL, so this is quite a comparison for the Kentucky senior.

As a Bulldog, Swift had two 1,000-yard seasons out of three and he notched 2,885 yards and 20 touchdowns as well as five receiving touchdowns.

Davis started his college career at Temple in 2019 and transferred to Vanderbilt for 2021 and 2022. He is well on his way to a 1,000-plus-yard season in 2023 for Kentucky. He rushed for 1,042 yards and five touchdowns last season for Vandy.