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Coming into the 2018 season, the Canes were considered to be one of the most lethal teams in the country due to their talent at the skill positions. One of the most loaded positions was running back, where Miami was returning near 1000-yard rusher Travis Homer, emerging sophomore Deejay Dallas, and senior bruiser Trayone Gray, while also adding incoming 5-star freshman Lorenzo Lingard. Lingard was not the only running back in last year’s recruiting class, as the coaching staff also brought in local product Cam’Ron Davis, a 4-star back out of Carol City HS.
Davis was buried on the depth chart and appeared to be destined for a redshirt, seeing limited action against Savannah State, FIU and FSU. Davis then went back to the bench to stay under the 4 game redshirt-limit, but fate would have other plans, as Lingard would suffer a season-ending injury and the Canes’ offense would stall during a 4-game losing streak. This perfect storm of circumstances led to Davis being called upon once again, and the immediate results jumpstarted the Miami offense:
At 5’10” and 190 lbs, the Opa Locka-native lacks the size of Homer and Dallas, but as you can see in his runs against Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech, Davis has plenty of burst to get to the second level of the defense and breakaway speed to finish off big runs. In those 2 games, Davis averaged 9.6 yards per touch with 3 touchdowns. His running style complements that of Homer and Dallas, which is incredibly useful in the Canes running back by committee rushing attack. An effective running game will do wonders for N’Kosi Perry and the passing game.
Wisconsin has the 10th ranked rushing attack in the nation, led by Doak Walker Award winner Johnathan Taylor, who is only 11 yards short of 2000 yards on the season. For the Canes to achieve their second bowl victory of Richt’s tenure, they will have to maintain some control over the time of possession battle. That means the Miami offense will have to move the sticks and sustain long drives to nullify Wisconsin’s methodical rushing attack. 9 yards per carry will keep any drive going, so Cam’Ron Davis will see his share of touches in the Pinstripe Bowl, and likely going forward into next season.