Miles Davis does not play an instrument.
The BYU freshman has been asked more than once about his own musical prowess (or lack thereof) and the famous jazz trumpeter with whom he shares a name. But the Miles Davis who will line up in the backfield for the Cougars this season is looking to be silky smooth with his feet instead.
Davis received his first snap at running back late last September in a win over Troy. He had played wide receiver for the entirety of his prep career at Las Vegas High School, so playing within a different part of the offense as an adjustment for him.
As soon as he received his first hit as a running back, he knew something had to change if he was going to make a successful transition.
“I was like, ‘Oh my god, yeah, I for sure have to put some weight on,’” Davis said Tuesday.
But soon after that wake-up call, Davis scored the first rushing touchdown of his Cougar career. Then he scored another. Davis punched in two rushing touchdowns in that Nov. 21 win over Northern Alabama.
Now heading into the 2021 season, Davis is one of the younger running backs vying for the third spot in the rotation behind veterans Tyler Allgeier and Lopini Katoa. When asked which players have stood out so far in fall camp, offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick mentioned Davis first.
“That guy stands out,” Roderick said Saturday after the team’s first fall scrimmage. “Every time he plays he does something good. Same thing happened last year as a freshman. He’d get in games and he was playing a different speed than everyone else. He does something good every day.”
Davis played four games for BYU in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He tallied 96 rushing yards, which was fourth on the team.
Davis said the biggest adjustment for him going from a wide receiver to a running back is reading defenses. As a receiver, his main responsibility was running effective routes and making himself open enough to catch a pass.
But as a running back, he has be as aware as the quarterback of how the defense is lining up.
“It’s kind of been pretty difficult, but [I’m] trying to get over those obstacles and just keep pushing,” Davis said.
Fortunately for Davis, he’s had some help with his development at a new position. He said he’s worked with Jamal Willis, a former BYU player who now runs a local camp for running backs, on more fluidity in his hips and jump cuts that can help him get around cornerbacks.
“The good thing with Miles is he’s really crafty with his movement,” Willis told The Salt Lake Tribune. “A lot of times, for us to create blocking and running lanes, it’s the way the running back moves. And Miles, [when] when I first saw him, I kind of could tell he had it there. It’s just I had to kind of bring it out.”
Willis told The Salt Lake Tribune that he believes Davis has the size, speed, quickness and toughness to be “a really solid BYU running back.”
Davis has also received tutelage from Allgeier and Katoa.
“When I don’t know a play, I’ll go to them, or if I go did something wrong, I’ll go to them and ask them,” Davis said. “So I feel like those two older guys, they help out the whole running back group, not just me.”
BYU coach Kalani Sitake described Davis as “elusive” and said his skills coupled with his willingness to learn are why he has “a tremendous amount of potential.”
“He’s got the great instincts of a natural runner, feeling pressure and knowing how to avoid it,” Sitake said. “No one really gets a clean shot on him.”
Roderick ostensibly guaranteed that Davis would see time on the field for the Cougars this year. And even if he gets some play calls at wide receiver, he can still do that, as evidenced by his 43 receiving yards in just four catches last year.
But it seems like that new position is here to stay for Davis.
“Running back is awesome,” Davis said.
