Ray Davis is a highly regarded running back prospect coming out of college. He is expected to be drafted in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft. Ray played for three different schools – Temple, Vanderbilt, and Kentucky and achieved the feat of rushing for over 1,000 yards at all the institutions.
Out of three, Kentucky offered the right environment for him to excel. He garnered accolades like First-Team All-SEC in his senior year which made him one of the best running backs in the Southeastern Conference.
Now, as reported by the New York Post, Ray Davis spoke about his journey from homelessness to being a 2024 Draft contender. As per Ray, he grew up in foster care in San Francisco with his parents reportedly struggling with incarceration. He also experienced homelessness at some point in his life. Presumably, football provided stability and a positive focus during a difficult childhood.
“Statistically, I’m the 1 percent who made it out of the situation I was unfortunately in, but I made it,” Ray Davis shared. “I’m not doing this for me. I’m doing it for a lot of other kids who are in that situation, if not a worse situation. To know that I can provide a platform and be a speaker for those kids who don’t have it, that’s the reason I keep going every day, that’s the reason I keep fighting.”
At the age of 8, he entered foster care, and by 14, he found himself living in a homeless shelter with 12 siblings. Despite the hardships, he persisted in his education, graduating from eighth grade.
Eventually, he landed at Trinity-Pawling boarding school with support from a surrogate guardian. Meanwhile, his father, Raymond Davis, reentered his life and gained custody, enabling him to pursue his athletic talents.
Excelling in football, he overcame academic challenges with a prep year and went on to play at various colleges. Now, on the brink of being drafted into the NFL, he reflects on his journey and hopes to inspire others facing similar obstacles to pursue their dreams.
“I would love to be a great running back, but at the end of the day, I just want to be a name that you remember,” Ray Davis added. “I want to be able to be somebody that every day when you wake up and you look at that story, and there’s a kid that’s sitting there that wants to play collegiate football, play basketball or play any sport, and they may not have the resources and they may not have the academic piece a part of it, but they have the fight and the courage because somebody else did it.”
The highly touted NFL prospect continued:
“I want to be known as somebody who continued to fight, who tried to defeat the system, who bet on himself, who against all odds didn’t fold, didn’t crack under pressure and he attacked it head on. That’s how I attack life.”
HOW INSPIRING!
