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From Homelessness to Vanderbilt Graduate to Kentucky, Running Back Re’Mahn Davis is a Fighter

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2 years ago

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UK Athletics

Mark Stoops has instilled toughness and grit in all of his football teams at Kentucky, but running back commit, Re’Mahn (Ray) Davis, has had that instilled in him from an early age.

Growing up in the Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco, Davis quickly realized at a young age that life would not be easy. With a father and mother in and out of incarceration, he and his siblings bounced from home to home of family and family friends.

By the time he was 8, he was part of California’s foster care system. At one point, Davis was separated from his sibling and was forced into a homeless shelter. With the help of a high school teacher and his wife, they offered Davis a place to stay until he was able to move back in with a grandmother.

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Then at a youth basketball tournament, Davis met Lora Banks the mother of one of his youth basketball teammates. Davis first asked for a ride, but little did he know the Banks family would change his life.

“He didn’t live anywhere and he didn’t have a quarter in his pocket and he got his meals at school,” Banks told Vanderbilt reporter Chad Bishop.

Banks and her husband Greg Ley soon found themselves inviting Davis over dinner when he “just happened to be in the neighborhood”. This soon led to applying for temporary guardianship of Davis, and even his educational rights holder.

Given an important stake in Davis’s future, Banks wanted what was best for him. Davis did not have a shortage of athletic gifts, which led to a family friend suggesting to look at Trinity-Pawling, a boarding school in Pawling, New York.

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Shortly after, Banks and Davis made the trip to New York for an on-site interview with the Dean of Trinity-Pawling, where Davis was accepted on the spot. After rushing for 462 yards and five touchdowns for Trinity-Pauley in 2017, Davis began to be recruited by the likes of Syracuse and Boston College.

After a post-graduate year to improve his academic standing, Davis committed to Temple University. After a solid start to his college career, Davis began searching for a better fit athletically and academically, ending up at Vanderbilt.

From a homeless child in San Francisco to one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the country, Davis preserved through adversity and is thankful for it.

“I don’t think I’d be the man I am today without those experiences. It just made me look at the bigger picture of life,” Davis said. “There’s always a lot of people going through way worse things than me.”

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Now, Davis is set to be RB1 for the Kentucky Wildcats with the goal of making it to the NFL. His ‘why’?

“I don’t really do it for me. I do it for all the other kids who are in the system… That’s the biggest thing for me. If I do make it, I hope to be a success story, not for me or my family, but for those kids and the less fortunate.”

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Football

Kentucky Athletic Collectives Rank 11th of 16 Teams in SEC, Bring in over $11 Million

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2 weeks ago

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December 10, 2024

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Kentucky ranks 11th of 16 SEC teams in collective fundraising.
Jordan Prather | Imagn

For better or for worse of college sports, NIL is here to stay and it certainly gives an advantage to schools with more money. Just looking at the SEC alone, collectives raised more than $200 million in the 2023-24 fiscal year. Unfortunately, Kentucky is ranked in the lower half of that.

According to documents from the House v. NCAA proposed settlement, Kentucky raised $11,254,204 from athletics collectives for the 2023-24 fiscal year. That ranks 11th of the 15 public universities in the SEC and is just more than half of the top collective, Texas who raised over $22 million.

Full Rankings

Rank
School NameCollective Funding
1Texas22,272,474
2LSU20,137,141
3Georgia18,326,566
4Texas A&M17,228,714
5Alabama15,995,406
6Florida15,802,237
7Oklahoma14,817,595
8Tennessee11,602,164
9Auburn11,588,953
10Arkansas11,544,039
11Kentucky11,254,204
12S. Carolina9,554,700
13Ole Miss8,872,378
14Missouri7,146,859
15Mississippi St.6,467,166
NRVanderbiltNot Available (Private School)

While collective funding is low, Kentucky has been a top 20 athletic program in total revenue, partly thanks to being a school that profits from its basketball program. Looking ahead to 2025, Kentucky is expected to stay in the top 20 nationally in athletic revenue, fifth in the SEC by bringing in an estimated 131,139,792. Ahead of programs like Georgia, LSU, Florida, and Tennessee.

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With revenue sharing coming in the near future, even more money is going to be involved in roster and program building. Schools in the Big Ten and SEC have an even bigger advantage due to their new TV deals, giving them up to an extra $70 million or more.

A new era of college sports is here. It’s time to prepare and embrace it.

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Kentucky Wide Receiver Calls for “A Lot” More Leadership and Accountability from Staff

Published

3 weeks ago

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December 2, 2024

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Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops walks onto the field before the game against the Louisville Cardinals.
Jordan Prather | Imagn

A poor offensive line. Inconsistent quarterback play. A lot of things led to Kentucky football’s abysmal 2024 season. However, they had the talent to finish better than 4-8, only defeating one power opponent this season. So what could have helped?

Kentucky wide receiver Ja’Mori Maclin was asked that question after the Wildcats’ loss to Louisville on Saturday. To his credit, he answered honestly and professionally.

“A lot more leadership,” Maclin said. “Holding guys accountable for things. A lot more discipline for all the guys… All around, players and coaches. We’re still a team, I don’t want to point at any one person or specific group. All around we need better leadership.”

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Maclin is a junior and could return for another season. Despite talking about Kentucky taking the next step, he has not made his decision and will be returning home to talk to his family to do so. If Maclin does return, it sounds like Kentucky will have a leader in the receiving room.

Despite being a 1,000-yard receiver at North Texas, Maclin was not targeted often. However, on his 13 receptions, he caught four for touchdowns, the most of any receiver on the team.

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Kentucky Player Seen At Concession Stand During Kentucky’s 41-14 Loss to Louisville

Published

3 weeks ago

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December 2, 2024

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A Kentucky football player was seen at buying food from the concession stand in Kentucky's 41-14 loss to Louisville.

Kentucky’s on-field product against Louisville was poor to say the least, sending 99% of Wildcat fans home early. It even sent an injured player from the sideline to get a snack…

Yes, offensive lineman Gerald Mincey, one of Kentucky’s most expensive transfer portal additions, was seen at one of the concession stands at Kroger Field during Kentucky’s 41-14 defeat.

Watching a 4-8 team is bad, but even worse to do on an empty stomach.

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Mincey is a senior and will not be returning next season, but it is nice to see him reinvesting some money back into the program.

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