Auburn sophomore receiver Ryan Davis wasn't utilized much during his freshman season, as he didn't record a catch all season and didn't touch the ball until a 28-yard run in Auburn's 26-10 win at Texas A&M.
However, Davis has been huge for the Tigers so far this season, as three of his 12 catches came on Auburn's final offensive drive against LSU. His first went for 9 yards on 3rd-and-4, keeping the drive alive. He would catch back-to-back passes just two plays later, gaining 8 and 6 yards, respectively.
Davis' catches helped Auburn move into position to score the game's final points and ultimately win, which has boosted his confidence.
"It's getting the feel of college football; touching the ball in big games like LSU, Clemson, Texas A&M, those types of SEC games," Davis said. "Just being more comfortable and confident in myself. Those touches every week are giving me more confidence doing it in practice and the reps, stuff like that."
Davis had a career-high 5 catches for 31 yards in Auburn's 18-13 win over LSU, and a large part of that might have to do with who was calling plays, or rather, who wasn't. Head coach Gus Malzahn relinquished his play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee so that he could oversee the whole team and the offense could find its identity.
However, Davis doesn't think the change in play-caller actually made much of a change in the play-calling.
"I feel like he and Coach Malzahn think just alike, so you can't really tell the difference because they're just so similar," Davis said. "They've been with each other so long. We understand both coaches."
Lashlee will continue to call plays for Auburn moving forward, and the receivers are excited about the prospects of that.
"We know coach Lashlee; he's a great mind," Davis said. "He's been under Coach Malzahn. He's been very well prepared. We have confidence in him."
Despite the offense showing improvement against LSU, Davis believed their red zone issues made the game closer than it should have been. Once those red zone issues are cleared up, though, Davis thinks the Tigers offense could become one of the nation's best.
"I feel like once we get through that wall — I feel like we keep crashing into a wall right now — but, once we break through it, there's so many points," Davis said.
"Once we get through that wall, I think our offense will take off to a whole other level."
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