Kingston Davis
Name: Kingston Davis
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 225 lbs.
High school: Prattville (AL) Prattville
Position: Running back
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #23
Last year: Davis was a senior in high school (LINK). He rushed 242 times for 1,656 yards (6.8 yards/carry) and 19 touchdowns.
Final TTB Rating: 70
Following the signing of 2015 cornerback Keith Washington from Prattville, Davis committed to the Wolverines in April 2015. After all, Washington was the quarterback who handed Davis the ball for most of his carries in 2014. At one point during the camp season last year, Davis checked in at 242 lbs. Despite his bulk, he insists he wants to be a running back in college, and he has slimmed down some since then to his official weight of 225. Regardless, he set school rushing records and picked up offers from Florida, Nebraska, and Ole Miss before enrolling at Michigan in January.
Davis didn’t create much buzz in the spring and dealt with a minor injury for part of the practice session. I think he’s the type of guy who may need a year or two of strength and conditioning work to reach his potential. On top of reshaping his body a bit, he has plenty of running backs ahead of him on the depth chart. De’Veon Smith, Drake Johnson, and Ty Isaac have all established themselves somewhat, and Karan Higdon got some experience last season. It’s not out of the question for Davis to contribute this season, but a fifth year of eligibility down the road might be helpful if he turns into a 230- or 240-pound beast who can pound teams to death.
Prediction: Redshirt
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In basketball the term “unicorn” is applied to rare talents – like a 7 footer who can shoot 3s and handle the ball. I think calling for a 240 pound RB might be the football version of wanting to find a unicorn.
We’ve seen it with Ty Isaac and we’ll probably see it with Davis (if he doesn’t move to FB or H-back) — 99% of RBs won’t be fast enough to be effective at that weight. Davis either needs to slim down to be a running back or bulk up to block. I’d target somewhere in the 220s for RB.
If he red-shirts I would take that a sign of the coaching staff’s long-term intent to move him to FB or H-back. If he is to be a RB, he will probably play, as most RBs do, even though there’s always many of them available. Teams tend to overstock RBs (I’ve never seen a college team have to resort to using walk-ons or position-change guys at RB but I have seen it at almost every other position.) Regardless of the copious depth, freshman RB tend to play. There’s not much reason to ever red-shirt a RB because the development gains are relatively small. That goes especially for big backs and early enrollees.
Still, even though Davis may play, (as Thunder noted) it’s hard to imagine a situation where he is a vital player on the 2016 team. A rank in the 80s seems justified.
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I disagree that freshman running backs usually play. Teams usually recruit multiple running backs. Michigan is bringing in three in this class, including Kareem Walker. It would be very surprising if all three played, considering Michigan’s RB situation. Drake Johnson redshirted and has turned into a valuable contributor, and Justice Hayes also redshirted that year, while Thomas Rawls played. I think it just varies from person to person.
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I don’t know what positions Evans and Davis are headed for, so they may indeed sit out the year but I kind of doubt they both do. Walker seems like a lock to play.
Johnson’s a decent example of a RB that benefited from having time to develop (he was a raw 2-star recruit but had plenty of natural talent because of his track speed). Hayes was never very good though. Hayes is another of the growing number of examples where Michigan gets no benefit fro red-shirting a player, though playing him as a freshman probably wouldn’t have helped them either, it might have made him a better players in years 2-4. Michigan supposedly wanted him back for year 5, but Smith (somewhat surprisingly) demonstrated that he was a capable 3rd down back despite lacking big play ability.
I don’t know if freshman backs usually play (or don’t) – my feeling is that they do but it’s not the main point. I’m saying that the guys who are destined to be good backs are going to be good right out of the gate in the vast majority of cases. Chris Perry is the shining example of a 5th year RB who was far better than he was as an underclassmen, and it looks like Drake Johnson may be another but those guys are exceptions to the norm.
If Davis is to be a RB there is no reason to red-shirt him — most certainly not to bulk up. If he’s moving to FB/H-back it makes sense.
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Not going to Red Shirt…. The best back on the roster.
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Not sure why the author say that Davis didn’t really do anything during the spring. Facts Davis did better than the crowed favorite Kareem Walker. I attended a few practices. Davis is not celebrated as the others therefore he will have to wait to make believers out of us. Davis made a key 4th and 3 for 6 or 7 yards to help the Maize team get the go-ahead and winning TD during the win spring game. Last year we had 2 major problems and one was the running backs. Davis is the best back we have on our roster right now. He is a complete back with good size, great vision, good footwork and quickness, can block, and catch the football. If he learns the playbook and stay healthy, he is not going to Red Shirt.
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Not sure why the author say that Davis didn’t really do anything during the spring. Facts, Davis did better than the crowed favorite Kareem Walker. I attended a few practices. Davis is not celebrated as the others therefore he will have to wait to make believers out of us. Davis made a key 4th and 3 for 6 or 7 yards to help the Maize team get the go-ahead and winning TD during the win spring game. Last year we had 2 major problems and one was the running backs. Davis is the best back we have on our roster right now. He is a complete back. If he learns the playbook and stay healthy, he is not going to Red Shirt.
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I said that because I believe it to be the case. A 6- or 7-yard gain in a spring game doesn’t mean a whole lot to me. Maybe Davis is the best back on the roster. I doubt it, but we’ll see. Regardless, he seems to be down the depth chart a bit, and I’m sure that’s not because the coaches are looking at his 247 Composite ratings. The coaches are going to play guys who deserve to get on the field. If he’s better than Walker and/or the other guys, he’ll play.
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