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Top Returning Huskies: At No. 6, Davis Is First Up to Carry the Ball

Originally posted on Washington Huskies on SI
By Lars Hanson | Last updated 8/20/23

When Washington needed a rushing touchdown last season, Cameron Davis was the man on the scene to deliver.

Now as a junior, Davis returns to lead a Huskies running-back room that combined for two dozen touchdowns on the ground in 2022 between Davis and the departed Wayne Taulapapa.

Through most of spring and fall camp, Davis has taken the first-team reps at running back while Dillon Johnson, a transfer from Mississippi State, continues to get acclimated to the offense.

“I think they both do things at a pretty high level to be honest with you,” UW running backs coach Lee Marks said of Davis and Johnson.

Davis missed two games last season – against Stanford in week four and Texas in the Alamo Bowl – while Johnson was on the sideline for a game at Alabama in week eight because of a knee injury suffered in the first half against Kentucky the previous week.

Although both are healthy now through three weeks of fall camp, UW offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb has maintained that Davis is the lead back with Johnson, junior Daniyel Ngata and sophomore Will Nixon each able to spell Davis at any moment.

“Cam’s having a really good camp,” Marks said. “I’m fired up where Cam is right now. Dillon’s a little bit heavier than Cam, but, as far as their style of play, they’re both really downhill, physical, violent runners.”

UW approaches practice similar to how the offense executes on Saturdays by limiting the number of touches each back gets as a way to spread carries and keep everyone healthy.

“We’re all competitive so we all want as many reps as we can,” Davis said. “But at the end of the day, we do prioritize health, so it helps that we’re a very deep room.”

Davis returns after scoring 13 rushing touchdowns last season, the most of any running back in the Pac-12, and two more than departed Husky starter Wayne Taulapapa had. No other returning back in the conference had more than nine rushing touchdowns in 2022.

Even though the UW had a pair of running backs rush for double-digit touchdowns, the offense primarily was led by quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and his passing arm.

After a 27-20 victory over Texas in the Alamo Bowl, Husky offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said in hindsight he would have liked to have run the ball more in the second half.

Heading into this fall, Grubb and UW coach Kalen DeBoer both have cited the need for the offense to have more balance, which means more carries for the running backs.

“I love that,” Davis said with a wide smile. “I love that. Obviously we had a very good passing offense. We were very explosive. We expect teams to be on top of that so we need every phase of the offense to be clicking on all cylinders.”

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This article first appeared on Washington Huskies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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