Almost every quality SEC running back has had “that game,” the one in which he establishes himself as “the guy” in the minds of coaches and fans.
For Georgia’s Nick Chubb, it was 143 yards against a stout Missouri defense as a freshman in in 2014. Derrius Guice did it too when he tallied 163 yards and three touchdowns in relief of an injured Leonard Fournette last season for LSU. Vanderbilt star Ralph Webb broke out for 105 against a tough Ole Miss defense in 2014. When the breakout game happens away from home, against a quality opponent, it’s even more special. Ask John Kelly, who piled up 128 yards and four touchdowns to help the Vols upend Georgia Tech in Atlanta in this year’s season opener.
Last night in Lexington, Florida’s Malik Davis may have had that special game. The true freshman from Tampa gained 93 tough yards on 21 carries against the nation’s third-ranked rush defense, doing most of his damage in the fourth quarter as the Gators rallied from a 13-point deficit for an improbable 28-27 victory.
Fans had clamored for more touches for the freshman since he busted off an 8-yard run against Michigan in the season opener, only to never touch the ball again. A 74-yard gallop against Tennessee showed more of the freshman’s sizzle, even if it ended with an unfortunate fumble and turnover. Florida clearly had a playmaker in Davis; it was simply up to the coaches to figure out a role.
With star tailback Jordan Scarlett suspended indefinitely, the Gators figured to rely on a three-man running back rotation of Lamical Perine, Mark Thompson and Davis. That changed Saturday night, and the fact the speedy freshman was who the Gators turned to as a workhouse was instructive. On the road, against one of the nation’s best run defenses, Davis’s speed and elusiveness separated him from the other two running backs. The Gators relied almost exclusively on Davis, who added a reception for 11 yards to his production totals, with the game on the line in the fourth quarter.
“We just kind of felt he was hot,” McElwain said of Davis. “He was in there and rolling, so we went ahead and stayed with him. It was nothing about what the other two did or didn’t do.”
Luke Del Rio was less diplomatic.
“You saw Malik (getting the ball) at the end of the game,” Del Rio told reporters. “He was turning runs that should be maybe a yard, two into five-yard gains. That’s how we won the game.”
Davis wasn’t a particularly highly-coveted player out of Tampa Jesuit, a late bloomer with a 3-star ranking and questions about his durability and size. But Florida had been burned by missing on that type of player before when Will Muschamp didn’t offer Gainesville product Ralph Webb, only to see Webb go on to a marvelous career at Vanderbilt. Davis, who like Webb is a bit undersized but fast, has rewarded his coaches’ trust.
What the continued emergence of Davis portends for UF whenever Jordan Scarlett returns to the fold is a question the Gators’ staff can handle when the time comes. But that seems like a good problem to have. An offense long-suffering from a dearth of playmaking options now must figure out how to share the only football on the field.
Whatever happens, Malik Davis figures to play a prominent role. A star may have been born for Florida Saturday night in Lexington, and the Gators are a better football team for it.
Neil Blackmon covers SEC football and basketball for SaturdayDownSouth.com. An attorney, he is also a member of the Football and Basketball Writers Associations of America. He also coaches basketball.
