HOUSTON – Kentucky running back Ray Davis, a second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection who played in the Senior Bowl all-star game, visited the Texans, per an NFL source.
Davis is one of the highest-ranked running back draft prospects and is regarded as a three-down, all-around back due to his pass-catching skills, elusiveness and ability to break tackles.
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In his lone season at Kentucky, Davis had 199 carries for 1,129 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns last season for the Wildcats, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. He also caught 33 passes for 323 yards and seven touchdowns. He had 280 rushing yards in a 33-14 victory over the Florida Gators as he scored four touchdowns, including a 75-yard score, as he averaged 10.8 yards per run on 26 carries. He had 21 total touchdowns, setting a single-season school record.
The AFC South champion Texans traded for former Cincinnati Bengals Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon this offseason and signed him to a three-year, $27 million contract extension. While the Texans have former Pro Bowl alternate Dameon Pierce on the roster, Pierce’s production dipped considerably last season as Devin ‘Motor’ Singletary supplanted him as the featured back. The Texans could be in the market to add another running back to work in tandem with Mixon.
Davis became the first active player in Division I to have 1,000 rushing yards at three different schools. He became the first player in SEC history to rush for 1,000 or more yards at two different programs.
He was named the Senior Bowl Offensive Player of the Week and East-West Shrine Bowl Breakout Offensive Player of the Week.
At 5-foot-8 3/8, 211 pounds, Davis has run the 40-yard dash in 4.51 seconds with a 1.56 10-yard split, a 4.51 20-yard shuttle, a 35-inch vertical leap and a 9-11 broad jump.
A former starter for the Temple Owls and Vanderbilt Commodores, Davis rushed for 3,626 career yards with 29 touchdown runs and 94 catches for 762 yards and 12 touchdown receptions. He averaged 4.9 yards per run for his career.
At Vanderbilt, he ran for 1,042 yards and five touchdowns in 2022 and was named fourth-team All-SEC with five 100-yard games and was a semifinalist for SEC Comeback Player of the Year.
At Temple, Davis rushed for 936 yards and eight touchdowns and was named a freshman All-American.
A San Francisco native, Davis attended high school at Trinity-Pawling School in New York before spending a post-graduate year at Blair Academy where he rushed for 1,698 yards and 35 touchdowns in eight games.
He had 4,815 rushing yards and 48 touchdowns in high school.
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.
