Kentucky’s Ray Davis Named First-Team All-Pro Special Teams
Kentucky football standout and current Buffalo Bills running back/kick return specialist Ray Davis has been named First-Team All-Pro Special Teams, it was announced today by the Associated Press. He becomes the 11th player in school history to make an NFL AP All-Pro Team, the first to be named first team by the AP since Dermontti Dawson in 1998.
Wildcats who previously earned NFL AP All-Pro honors are:
- Outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith – second team in 2020 with the Green Bay Packers
- Center Dermontti Dawson – six consecutive first-team AP honors from 1993-98 with the Pittsburgh Steelers
- Defensive end Art Still – second team in 1980 and 1984 with the Kansas City Chiefs
- Center Jeff Van Note – second team in 1979 and 1982 with the Atlanta Falcons
- Quarterback Babe Parilli – first team in 1964 with the Boston Patriots
- Quarterback George Blanda – first team in 1961 and second team in 1962 and 1963 with the Houston Oilers
- Defensive tackle Bob Gain – second team in 1962 and 1963 with the Cleveland Browns
- Defensive end/kicker Lou Michaels – second team 1959 and 1962 with the Pittsburgh Steelers
- Offensive lineman Bob Talamini – first team in 1962, second team in 1964, first team in 1965, and first team in 1967 with the Houston Oilers
- Defensive tackle Frank Fuller – second team in 1959 with the Chicago Cardinals
Davis, a native of San Francisco, is in his second season with the Buffalo Bills after being drafted in the fourth round in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Originally drafted as a running back, Davis expanded his impact in his rookie season with the Bills in 2024 by emerging as a dynamic kick return specialist on special teams.
In 2025, he returned 31 kickoffs in the regular season for the Bills for 943 yards and one touchdown. This made up a majority of his 1,304 all-purpose yards, including his rushing statistics on offense.
Davis’ 30.4 yards per kick return ranked first in the NFL.
Davis played at Kentucky in 2023, and in his lone season with the Wildcats, he had one of the best single-season performances in school history with 199 carries for 1,129 yards (11th on UK’s single-season list) and 14 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 33 passes for 323 yards and seven scores, totaling 21 touchdowns, a single-season school record. Davis became the 11th player in school history to reach 1,000 rushing yards in a single season. His seven receiving touchdowns are the most touchdown catches in a season by a running back in school history and led all running backs in the Football Bowl Subdivision in the ‘23 season. His 126 points also were a single-season school record.
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