Every time Toray Davis touched the ball Friday night at Recht Field, the Fairview senior invoked the recent memory of a Heisman Trophy winner from just up the road.
No matter what position he played, the damage he incurred was palpable. No Boulder player could stop him in the Knights’ 63-0 victory over the Panthers — their 17th straight in that matchup.
Itap no wonder he’s headed to a program like UCLA next year.
He had quite the role model with CU’s former wide receiver and cornerback, Travis Hunter, who last year won college football’s most coveted individual prize. His 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns on offense, as well as his four interceptions on defense, painted a picture that was too great for the Heisman committee to pass up.
“I watched him almost every game,” Davis said. “Being able to watch someone that plays really similar to me was a great opportunity. It was his athletic ability, playing both sides, his leadership — everything really.”
Davis’ numbers, of course, are already a masterpiece of their own. Before Friday nightap contest, he boasted 374 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns, and he’s added 10 tackles for good measure.
Against the Panthers, Davis only touched the ball four times on offense, but he scored on three for 84 total yards. He wasted no time asserting his dominance on defense, either. He picked up his first interception midway through the first quarter, then added his second with 15 seconds remaining in the first half.
He, and the rest of the Knights’ starters, spent the rest of the game on the sidelines, having built up a 49-0 lead by that point.
“He’s something else,” head coach Tom McCartney said. “He was a two-way starter last year. He never comes off the field — kick returner, punt returner, punter. He just does everything for us. He’s just super explosive. It looks so effortless for him, smooth.”
The senior said that this year, with his Division I commitment already under his belt, he’s been working harder to prove himself even more.
Three games into the Knights’ 2-1 campaign, he’s certainly putting the rest of the state on notice, and he’ll be a force for them all season as they look to repeat last year’s deep run in the 5A playoffs. They take their next step forward at home against Monarch next Friday.
“He has it all,” McCartney said. “When you have his height, his frame, his broad shoulders — he’s just so smooth. It doesn’t matter where he plays, whether itap O or D, he’s got a gift. His family, I mean, they just have done an amazing job with him because as great a player as he is, he’s an incredible teammate. In my mind, he’s not going to always be, maybe, the most vocal, but man does he play at a high level and he brings others with him. And everyone sees his competitive fire.”
