Those stats are missing several games. 247 posted them and Davis was iirc 105 carries for 507 yards. He also had a bunch of catches.
Obviously not great, but anyone who watched Carol City play knows how terrible their OL was.
He posted pretty big #s his Jr years, so saying he can't play is dumb
There are 2 things here where I think the point is being missed:
1) It's not number of yards gained, it's ypc. If you're a 4 star RB and averaging under 5 ypc, it's a red flag, no matter what. But if you're averaging under 5 ypc while 3 other players on the same team are averaging 6+ ypc, then it's really a red flag. It negates the "It's the OL" argument if 3 other players on the same team have a higher ypc. I'm not saying Davis sucks, I'm just saying me personally - I look at his highlights and all of these big runs and say to myself, something doesn't add up, and it's not the OL.
My take in watching the highlights, where I think Davis struggles:
Cutting/agility/lateral movement - He looks like a very tight, with little wiggle. He cuts look very rounded vs. quick change of direction cuts. He's mostly a straight line runner with little change of direction. Homer is this way too, but Homer looks to have much more agility than Davis IMO. If the hole is there Davis can hit it and make a big play, but I could say the same for Homer/Dallas/Lingard. Davis doesn't have any advantage there.
Power - I don't see him initiating contact on any of his runs. He can make people bounce off once he has a head of steam, but I'm not seeing him meeting anyone in the hole, bouncing off and running through them. Another poster mentioned people that played against him thought he was soft. I don' know about soft, but it looks like a valid concern to me. He looks like a power back who doesn't run powerfully (a common complaint against Gus Edwards).
Those are the red flags I see in his highlights.
2) I'm not saying he sucks. I'm saying a 4 Star, #10 RB in the country is overrating him. I'm saying the 3 star #25 RB in the country 247 rated him as is more accurate, and his stats and the reasons above are why I feel that way.
I already said he could compete with Yearby and Walton. He's bigger and faster than those guys. But he'll be competing against Homer/Dalls/Lingard. He doesn't hold a size or speed advantage against any of them. Yes, he's similar in size and speed - but I don't think he's the runner that any of those 3 are.
Burns is our biggest RB. Homer is the fastest. Dallas is the best receiver and most versatile. Lingard is the best pure runner. Size/Speed/Receiving/Running Ability/Power - I wouldn't put Davis in the Top 3 in any of those categories compared to the other RB's on the roster.
So I'm not saying Davis can't play at all. Davis is talented - it's just that Homer/Dallas/Lingard are MORE talented - so he's going to have a hard time getting on the field. If he were at NC St., he'd probably be battling for the starting position right now.
Davis/Yearby/Walton/Cooper/Moss - These were all highly rated 4/5 star RB's that I felt were overrated. If they were rated accurately - they'd be more like high 3 star talents, IMO. I went through the same thing on this board with them that I am with Davis now.
It's just my opinion. Maybe Davis is the next Lamar Miller. Plenty of people on this board smarter than me think that's the case. I'm wrong all the time. I just think, if you look, there's plenty of things that point him being a good/solid college RB vs. him being a stud RB.
