Running back Miles Davis is returning to BYU after brief stint in transfer portal
A day after BYU running back Aidan Robbins announced he is declaring for the NFL draft, one of his backups in 2023 said he’s returning to the school after a brief stint in the transfer portal.
Fourth-year sophomore Miles Davis confirmed to the Deseret News Wednesday that he withdrew his name from the portal “two days ago” and will be back with the team in 2024. Davis, a 6-foot, 210-pound athlete from Las Vegas who was recruited as a receiver and switched to running back two years ago, entered the portal last Thursday.
“I am staying at BYU,” Davis said via text message.
He will re-join a running backs room that includes presumptive 2024 starter LJ Martin, a rising sophomore, Utah State transfer Enoch Nawahine, Hinckley Ropati (out in 2023 with an ACL injury) and redshirt freshman Nukuluve Helu.
There are now seven known former Cougars in the transfer portal: defensive end Michael Daley, defensive end John Henry Daley, long snapper Austin Riggs, receiver Dom Henry, quarterback Sol-Jay Maiava-Peters, offensive lineman Dylan Rollins (still on a church mission) and receiver Maguire Anderson.
Davis, who signed with BYU in February 2020 after earning all-state accolades in 2019 at Las Vegas High, was used sparingly in 2023 as Martin and Robbins got the bulk of the carries for the 5-7 Cougars. He had 78 yards on 16 carries and did not find the end zone.
Davis’ best game came against TCU, when he had 10 carries for 47 yards.
He’s had 72 carries for 392 yards and two touchdowns in his BYU career.
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Because the 2020 season doesn’t count due to COVID-19 and he redshirted in 2021, Davis has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Davis drew rave reviews from coach Kalani Sitake and offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick in fall camp before the 2021 season, but suffered an injury later in camp and appeared in only two games that year.
“That guy is a good player, and he is going to play for us,” Roderick said in 2021 after a fall camp scrimmage. “That guy stands out every time he plays. Same thing happened last year as a freshman. He would get in games and he was playing at a different speed than everybody else. And he does something good every day.”
And now he’s back.
