Utah State Aggies: Player Watch – WR Micah Davis

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Utah State Aggies WR Micah Davis, The League Winners, theleaguewinners

The Player Watch, highlighting Utah State wide receiver Micah Davis.

  • Micah Davis
  • Position: Wide Receiver
  • Utah State Aggies
  • 5’11” 185 lbs

Who is Micah Davis?

Micah Davis was an unranked prospect in the composites and attended Harrison High in Georgia. Davis was an excellent returner and was a three time all-region selection. He did a little of everything for Harrison High and finished his high school career with 72 receptions for 1,374 yards and 19 touchdowns with over 400 rushing yards and had 1,923 return yards.

Davis was a three sport athlete in high school. He spent time on the basketball court and was a highly decorated baseball player who initially committed to Georgia to play baseball. Davis would end up backing out of baseball and would focus on football. He would play at the Air Force Academy for 2020 and 2021 where he was deployed as a wide back, where he could operate in space. In 2021, Davis saw 260 snaps with 47 carries for 360 yards and 4 touchdowns, and added 10 receptions. Following the 2021 season, Davis decided to transfer out of the Air Force. This is because after two years you are obligated to serve in the military service.

Micah Davis would leave Air Force and end up at Iowa Western Community College. There, he led all of Community College with 329 return yards. Davis would transition back to the wide receiver position where he had 33 receptions for 289 yards (and over 100 yards rushing) After the season, Davis would move out west again. This time he’d end up at Utah State.

This past season at Utah State, Micah Davis quickly worked his way into the rotation. He was a key contributor from day one, and became the full time starter in Week 6 versus Colorado State. From then on, Davis went from seeing 20% of snaps to being a near-every down player. Davis ended the season seeing 544 snaps. He had 36 catches on 59 targets for 628 yards and 6 touchdowns. The Aggies would use Davis as a boundary receiver, where his growth was on full display.

Breaking down 2023, Davis saw 17.7% of his snaps in the slot and 82.3% outside as a boundary receiver. He averaged 6 yards after the catch with an aDOT of 14.9 yards and a 2.14 yards per route run. For context, anything over 2 yards is seen as a positive. 

Strengths

Micah Davis is good in the open field. He has excellent vision and knows how to create with the ball in his hands. From high school, to his time at Air Force (and the year at Community College), Davis has shown to be effective with the ability to create.

Davis is a twitchy athlete that is a perfect complement to Jalen Royals. It would be nice to see Davis used in push passes, getting him in motion and in space to create manufactured touches. For example, on jet sweeps with fakes to him with the option of throwing it over the top to Jalen Royals would bring extra excitement to the offense. It’d also use Davis’ skill as a space creator and cause havoc on opposing defenses.

The rage has been utilizing players in a “Deebo Samuel” role, where e a wide receiver is used like a running back to create touches for him and let him create. Davis is in that mold and at 185 pounds in the Mountain West, could become a Malachi Corley type of player if the Aggies choose to use him that way. Davis runs a diverse route tree and has enough experience to win at each level. He is not just a short area threat.

Areas for Improvements & Concerns

Micah Davis will need to take the next step and become the Aggies’ WR2 opposite of Jalen Royals to stress defenses. He will need to take over the role left over from Terrell Vaughn. We saw glimpses at times last year that Davis could do that. Now he needs to do that on a consistent basis. The wide receiving room is lacking experience and the team will need to call on Davis to take that next step.

Davis has been a sponge everywhere he’s been. While on paper, he should take that next step, it is still a lot to ask for a player who has not done so yet. Taking over 500 snaps last year has helped create a lot of experience and Davis should be able to build off that. He can lean on Royals who will be the alpha in the room and together they can feed off of each other. The offense goes through Jalen Royals, but the team’s success will depend on Davis. If Davis cannot take the next step, then defenses will just shade coverage towards Royals and the offense will not be able to click on all cylinders. 

Positional Outlook

We know that Utah State will have Jalen Royals operating one boundary position on the offense. The question is where will Micah Davis end up playing.

Davis has grown as a receiver and become a good boundary player, where previously he was a wide back and worked closely at the line of scrimmage. Davis and the coaching staff have done a tremendous job teaching Davis, and he has done an excellent job in being a sponge. The reason I have questions on if Davis will be used as a boundary or slot this upcoming season is due to the depth chart behind Royals and Davis.

The Aggies wide receiver room is filled with bigger-bodied players who aren’t suited to the slot. The players who could potentially fill in as slot options haven’t had a lot of experience, and it may just be easier for the coaching staff to have Davis work the slot. That way, they can use one of their bigger receivers as the other boundary weapon and field different body types – causing chaos on opposing defenses.

Micah Davis is twitchy, and shifty enough to work as a slot receiver. That could unlock a new potential for the Aggies’ offense, getting the ball in Davis hands in short to intermediate routes to let him operate in space. If they line him up on the same side as Jalen Royals, that would free up Royals from being double teamed. That could allow them to use pick plays to create space for Royals. And on the opposite side of the field, they could use one of their lengthier receivers for one-on-one coverage and throw jump balls. Utah State would be a lot more diverse and wouldn’t be stagnant like we saw at times last season. It caused the Aggies to trail early in games, forcing them to play catch up. Having Davis at the slot just makes a lot of sense.

Pathway to Success

From Week 6 (when he became a full-time player) Micah Davis had six of seven games with six or more targets. He also had three touchdowns during that time. While he benefitted from having Jalen Royals and Terrell Vaughn to work with, it at least showed his ability as a playmaker for the team. Targets are an earned stat, and he was able to earn that.

If Davis is used as a boundary receiver, he will at least be familiar with his role and position; although working in the slot could unleash a new type of offense and accentuate Davis’ positive attributes. Either way, this is the year that Davis needs to breakout. The Aggies offense will be dependent on that.

2024 Outlook

Jalen Royals and Micah Davis could be the best duo in the Mountain West. Both players could end up with over 1,000 receiving yards and double digit touchdowns. Davis has been an integral part of each team he has been on and this year will be no different. While Royals will get all the accolades, Davis will be the player doing all the extra little things for this team to be unlocked.

Andy is the creator of the Devy Digest. His passion is devy and C2C. Andy's Devy Diguest articles provide insightful, yet thoughtful commentary to give you a leg up on the devy prospects so you know how to approach your devy and C2C drafts. With The Devy Digest podcast, Andy provides episodes of interesting and exciting topics and when he invites guests, you get to be a fly on the wall, listening in on two people having a conversation where they give you a different perspective. Come, join the journey that is Andy's Devy Digest.

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