Cam Davis, Even with Injuries and Near-Misses, Has No UW Regrets

The sixth-year senior running back and team captain remains forever upbeat about his career.

Cam Davis catapults into the end zone to score against Colorado in 2022. / Skylar Lin Visuals

As a freshman running back, Cam Davis started the 2019 Las Vegas Bowl for the University of Washington, lost a yard on the first offensive snap and didn't carry the football again in the Huskies' 38-7 victory over Boise State.

In 2022, he finished fourth in the Pac-12 with 13 rushing touchdowns though he was the starter for just one Husky game all season long and ended up sitting out the Alamo Bowl against Texas in concussion protocol.

Last season, Davis was running as the UW's No. 1 back midway through fall camp when he suffered a knee injury and had surgery, forcing him to miss the entire 15-game glorious run to the Pac-12 championship game against Oregon, the Sugar Bowl and CFP semifinals against Texas, and the national title game against Michigan.

This year, while he's appeared in every game as a reserve, Davis barely got on the field in last weekend's 35-6 disaster at Penn State as the coaching staff turned the game over to some of the younger players once things got out of hand.

Cam Davis (22) flexes as UW teammate Giles Jackson greets him on game day. / Skylar Lin Visuals

Yet while the 6-foot, 214-pound senior from Rancho Cucamonga, California, has had to swallow hard at times, and had every reason to be disappointed in the way some things have turned out, he's forever been an unflappable presence in Montlake as he prepares for his final game at Husky Stadium against UCLA on Friday night.

"It's going to be emotional for me, too," he said. "Been here for six years. Had a lot of great memories, through the highs and the lows. Wouldn't want to do it any different, growing as a man here. Learned a lot of life lessons, a lot of valuable lessons. There's a lot of things I'll take with me through the rest of my life, through the rest of my journey."

Entering this game against the Bruins, the 40th of his career, Davis' UW football stat line goes as follows: He's rushed 253 times for 1,093 yards and 15 touchdowns, with a long run of 42 yards against Arizona State in 2022; he has 41 receptions for 416 yards, with a long catch of 37 yards coming on a double pass against Michigan this season; and he's returned 10 kickoffs for 183 yards, with a long runback of 30 yards against Oregon State in 2022.

His favorite play remains the last touchdown he scored, nearly two full years ago, when he somersaulted over a Colorado defender for a 6-yard score in the UW's 54-7 victory pre-Deion Sanders in 2022.

Typical of his brushes with greatness that could have evolved just a little more, Davis has a top rushing output of 99 yards on 18 carries in a 20-13 win over Stanford in 2021, losing five yards that game to just miss out on the running-back standard of 100; and he scored three times on runs of 4, 1 and 5 yards against Arizona State in 2022, but his Huskies lost 45-38.

Cam Davis scoots up the sideline for 37 yards against Michigan on a double-pass play. / Skylar Lin Visuals

One thing Davis could use is another shot at a bowl game. While he drew the opening assignment in the Las Vegas Bowl, his playing time was exceedinly brief. And he had to sit out the Alamo Bowl and the Sugar Bowl, both against Texas, with injuries and watch as a spectator.

Yet he's not complaining one bit about his temporary setbacks, not expressing regret or lingering disappointment or doubt about anything that's happened. For that reason, he's a respected team captain, and the only one who's not a starter, because he brings such a positive outlook to his teammates. He'll leave satisfied by how everything turned out in Montlake.

"I wouldn't trade it for anything else, growing through this process," Davis said. "That's what I'm thankful for."

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