Malik Davis

Early life

Davis attended Jesuit High School, where he was a three-year starter at running back.

As a junior, he registered 2,337 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns. He was named the 2016 Hillsborough Offensive Player of the Year by the Tampa Bay Times, he was named to the 2016 Class 5A All-State team and received the 2016 Guy Toph Award, which is given to Hillsborough County's most outstanding football player

As a senior, he had a county-best 2,469 rushing yards and 33 touchdowns, contributing to his team having a 12-1 and winning the 5A state championship game. He finished as the all-time rushing leader in the county with 7,025 career yards, surpassing the mark set by Ray-Ray McCloud. He also averaged 8.5 yards an attempt, including 11.5 yards per carry as a senior and totaled 83 career touchdowns. He received PrepStar Magazine All-Southeast Region Class honors.

College career

Davis accepted a football scholarship from the University of Florida. As a true freshman in 2017, he appeared in 7 games (2 starts), before suffering a season-ending injury in the seventh game against the University of Georgia. He finished second on the team in rushing with 526 yards on 79 carries and also had 2 rushing touchdowns. He had 5 games with over 90 rushing yards, including a career-high 124 against Vanderbilt University, where he became the first true freshman in the SEC to score two rushing touchdowns in a single-game. He was named to the Coaches Freshman All-SEC Team.

As a sophomore in 2018, he appeared in just three games before sustaining a season-ending knee injury against Colorado State University. He received a medical redshirt. He tallied 13 carries for 61 yards and 3 receptions for 33 yards before he was lost for the season.

As a redshirt sophomore in 2019, he played in 12 games at running back, tallying 86 yards and one touchdown on 34 carries, while making 6 receptions for 41 yards. He also was a part of the special teams unit. He had a season-best 22 rushing yards against Towson University.

As a redshirt junior in 2020, he appeared in all 12 games of the season with 2 starts. He collected 66 carries for 310 yards and 31 receptions for 377 yards. He had a season-high 81 rushing yards against Louisiana State University. He started during the SEC Championship Game against the University of Alabama, tallying one carry for 2 yards on one carry and 2 receptions for 15 yards.

As a redshirt senior in 2021, he started at running back in 12 of 13 games, rushing 92 times for 487 yards and 5 touchdowns, to go along with 23 receptions for 217 yards and 2 receiving touchdowns. In season opener against Florida Atlantic University, he ran 14 times for 104 yards and one touchdown, for the second 100-yard rushing game of his career. In the Gasparilla Bowl against the University of Central Florida, he had 7 carries for 86 yards and one touchdown.