The Miami Hurricanes were on their way to the airport in Blacksburg, Va., on Saturday night when freshman running back Cam’Ron Davis received a phone call that made the celebration on the team bus even more lit.
The caller on the other end: Flo Rida.
“He said, ‘Mom, Flo called on FaceTime and everybody was screaming,’ ” said Valerie Nelson, Davis’ mother and the social media director for the hit-producing rapper for the last seven years.
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“Flo was at a show in Vegas, but he had to reach out to Cam to congratulate him on his two-touchdown game. Flo is anything Miami. He likes the Miami Hurricanes, Miami Dolphins, Miami Heat. He’s a real 305 boy. But with Cam, it’s even more special. He’s a kid playing from his program, the Florida Youth Football League. So, it’s like a win-win for him, too.
“I’m telling you, the last two weeks have been full of excitement. We’re still on a high.”
Before Travis Homer tweaked his calf muscle and DeeJay Dallas lost two fumbles in Miami’s loss to Duke on Nov. 3, it looked like Davis, who turns 20 in March, might be headed toward receiving a redshirt for the season.
He had compiled just 27 yards on six carries in three late-game appearances against Savannah State, FIU and Florida State, playing a grand total of 16 offensive snaps.
But when duty called, Davis delivered.
The 5-foot-10, 190-pound, four-star recruit from Miami Carol City High opened eyes with an explosive 22-yard touchdown run in a loss to Georgia Tech on Nov. 10 and followed it up with a 42-yard touchdown run and 16-yard touchdown catch in Miami’s 21-point third quarter against the Hokies.
He has run for 125 yards on 13 carries and hauled in two catches for 19 yards on just 30 offensive snaps during the stretch and given the fan base a reason to smile about his future.
“The kid wants to be great,” said Carol City coach Benedick Hyppolite, who coached Davis his senior season.
“He’s a very hard worker. He’s one of those first ones there, last one to leave. He’s definitely blessed with God-given talent, but he’s a humble individual and a leader in tough moments. The bigger the game, the tougher the opponent or situation, that’s when he excels. In the playoffs, when we needed that run, he just led the guys. He’s just very dependable. That’s something I preached to my guys this year, dependability is greater than ability. As much as God has blessed him with talent, I just always appreciated being able to depend on him.”
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How has it felt for Davis to put back-to-back stellar performances together after spending the first nine games of the season watching from the bench?
“Each touchdown was great, but I’m still looking for more,” Davis said. “We’ve still got another game.”
Don Soldinger, who coached some of the greatest running backs in Hurricanes history including NFL stars Edgerrin James, Frank Gore, Willis McGahee and Clinton Portis, said Davis has caught his eye over the past two weeks.
Soldinger sees shades of Portis in Davis.
“This Davis guy is real good — he has a little burst like Clinton did,” Soldinger, 74, said when reached by phone Monday. “You know what I like most about him? He sees the hole, he’s gone. He doesn’t force the hole either. Some of the blocking he’s had has been pretty good, too. When you’re in there a long time, you don’t get that all the time. If he got the ball 20 times, that might not happen all the time. He might end up running into a pile.
“Now, I really haven’t watched him enough to see his pass protection. You’re just seeing his running. A lot of guys can run the ball, but it’s what they do when they don’t have the ball. Blocking, catching. But running the ball, he’s pretty damn good.”
Pass protection is something Davis said he has spent a lot of the season trying to improve. It started with film study and then going out on the practice field and executing it.
“The door got opened up for him when Homer was banged up and couldn’t really practice a couple of weeks back,” coach Mark Richt told WQAM’s Joe Rose on Monday. “Cam, to his credit, all along has been taking advantage of the repetitions that he was getting, but he wasn’t getting a lot in practice. All of a sudden, he got a boatload of them and handled them really well.
“He just competed well. The biggest thing he proved is he knew what to do. That’s the biggest thing for a running back. It’s one thing to know where to go in the run game but also to understand your pass protection. He earned his way to get in the game more, and when he’s got in there, he’s been highly productive as we’ve all seen. He’ll get more totes the rest of the season and the future looks bright for him.”
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Hyppolite said Davis gets his explosive burst from his days on the track.
“He’s run the 100 meters in 10.6,” Hyppolite said. “Really, what makes him special to me was what I saw him do last summer when he went to Oregon for the 7-on-7 and played with a bunch of all-stars. He didn’t even line up in the backfield. The entire time he played 7-on-7 he was at receiver as a vertical presence, lighting guys up in the secondary.
“When he called me (Sunday), it was to talk about the game and finishing the year strong. He’s just a very focused young man.”
And now that focus turns to Pittsburgh in the regular-season finale Saturday.
Davis’ mom said she and Flo Rida will be tuned in.
“It’s a blessing to see kids from the Florida Youth Football League become superstars on and off the field,” the Carol City-born rapper said. “This is special because Cam is one of the many I know personally.”
