Temple’s Re’Mahn Davis talks Heisman Trophy and improvement over last season’s performance

For a sophomore, Temple running back Re’Mahn Davis has quite a bit of experience that is only exceeded by his confidence.

Just look at his twitter handle – @MrHeisman7 – to see how much belief he has in his own ability.

Then again, as a true freshman, he had the second-best season ever for a first-year Temple running back, exceeded only by Bernard Pierce, who rushed for 1,361 yards in 2009.

Last season, Davis rushed for 936 yards (4.8 avg. per carry) and eight touchdowns.

He was fifth among Football Bowl Subdivision freshman in rushing yards and was named a freshman all-American by Pro Football Focus.

Now, Davis is the most experienced player in an extremely young running backs room, and he isn’t backing down from his own high expectations that are evident in his Twitter handle.

“That is my goal in life, to win a Heisman," Davis said during Friday’s Zoom media call with reporters. “It it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t."

This has been a long-time goal

"As a little kid you always dreamed to be able to compete and get to that spot and try to be the best in college football, so I’m going to continue to have that dream, and have that goal, and one day I’ll accomplish it. And maybe one day I won’t. But it’s always good to have that goal, and to reach for the stars. Reach for the moon,” Davis said.

Want another example of confidence? See more on his Twitter page.

At 5-foot-9 and 215-pounds, he is a combination of power and speed. On a Temple team that is expected to have a formidable passing game, Davis is expected to be one of the keys for the offense, providing some needed balance.

Running backs coach Gabe Infante, who, like Davis, is in his second year at Temple, says the biggest change from last year is the experience that Davis gained.

“I think Ray was running to catch up last year, being a true freshman, and, just trying to get his feet on the ground, trying to deal with what expectations we had of him and his own expectations of himself,” Infante said. “And I think just dealing with success, he had a lot of success early and trying to become consistent through that.”

Infante says that Davis has a better understanding of what to expect this season, and he equates it with his situation as a second-year coach after a highly successful stint as head coach at St. Joseph’s Prep.

“It’s kind of like me, just trying to know what the schedule is, what the cycle is, understanding what the year will look like and how to prepare for each phase of the year," Infante said.

One area Davis could be even more of a threat is in the passing game. Last season, he had 15 receptions for 181 yards and two touchdowns, but with his elusive moves, he is a nightmare to defend if isolated in the flat.

Davis says he was pleased with his work as a runner his first season, but his goal is to be more of an overall back this year.

“There is stuff I definitely need to work on, pass blocking and catching the ball,” he said. "I need to be able to be a complete back like Coach [Rod] Carey said.

Carey told him that he had the running part down, but to be a three-down back you also have to be able to pass block and catch.

This year, Davis says he is looking to be in even better shape, ready to carry a bigger load. He mentioned wanting to be able to be a 20-carry-a-game back if needed. Last season, he averaged 16.1 carries per game.

Most of all, he is anxious to get started when Temple opens its season Oct. 10 at Navy and improve on last year.

“I could have contributed a lot more to the team [last season] in little parts of the game,” he said.