Veteran Fleet-Davis taking advantage of role as lead running back
- Ahmed Ghafir
- Sep 7, 2021
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 5, 2022
Veteran running back Tayon Fleet-Davis has found the field through his career as a Terp, but he’s had to wait for his turn as a feature back behind a running back room that produced multiple NFL backs. Fleet-Davis competed alongside Anthony McFarland, Javon Leake, Jake Funk, Lorenzo Harrison, and Ty Johnson as the Terps’ rushing attack was once the face of the offense. While the Terps’ passing attack stole the headlines on Saturday, the time for Fleet-Davis to emerge as the veteran leader in the room is now.
“I've been sitting behind Jake [Funk] I think for a while. [Anthony] McFarland, Ty Johnson, Lorenzo Harrison, and a couple other great running backs and I got a chance to learn from all of them and add my own,” he said after Tuesday’s practice. “So, looking at Jake and what he did last year bring it to the team great leadership, running the ball tough, and seeing where he ended up at you know that just motivation to me and stuff, I want to bring to the team this year.”
Head coach Mike Locksley noted after Saturday’s win that his veteran has taken the necessary steps to prepare for the moment. “Tayon has benefited from COVID,” head coach Mike Locksley said. “It’s a super senior, for us to be a guy that, you know, we brought back for an extra year. Much like I think what we saw out of Jake Funk last year hoping that he does and takes that next level and I've seen it with the maturity, I've seen it with his leadership. He’s one of those guys that our players feed off of his emotion.”
The “super-senior” made his first start in nearly three years as he rushed for 123 yards, on 18 carries. The offense turned to Fleet-Davis on the first two offensive plays from scrimmage, the first a 12-yard completion before tallying his first six rushing yards on the day. As Maryland rode the strength of Taulia Tagovailoa and his pair of 100-yard receivers through the game, the rushing attack struggled through the first half with just 54 yards on the ground while Fleet-Davis and Isaiah Jacobs combined for just 17 rushing yards in the third quarter. After freshman linebacker Branden Jennings forced a fumble in the final seconds of the third, the Terps made a concentrated effort to force the run game to set up the deep ball.
“I was just worried about staying on track and you know, just keeping the game going and keep moving the chains for the team,” Fleet-Davis added. He also flashed his ability as a receiving back, evident on one of his four catches as he reeled in a one-handed catch mirroring his catch from the spring game. “When those chances come, I just got to make the best out of them, he added. “Catching the ball is something that running backs don't get a lot of chance to do often so when you do get a chance to catch the ball, I think you should be able to catch every one.”
For Fleet-Davis himself, he admitted it took him roughly a full quarter to get settled into the flow of Saturday’s game, but the appreciation for being back playing the game of football wasn’t lost on him. “It did take me a little bit you know to just be like ‘wow, I'm back in college football’ because it is like the first day of school for me again, I’m not going to lie,” he said after Tuesday’s practice. “It was a great feeling I had. After I got the butterflies out, I kind of settled down. I still think I could have did better, you know, I left a couple of plays out there but that's why we watch film.”
After the Terps’ took the 30-21 lead on a 60-yard touchdown by Rakim Jarrett, it was Fleet-Davis who broke off a 53-yard run to ice the game for the Terps. The run also put him over the century mark on the day as Maryland had their first 300-100-100-100 game since last season’s win over Minnesota, but to Fleet-Davis, it was the second-half adjustments that set up the play. “I think I just settled down. My line, they were blocking great the whole game, credit to those guys up front. I mean after I got settled down the game pretty much came easy to me, you know I wasn’t worried about you know breaking a long run.”
Fleet-Davis will look to lead the unit again this weekend when Maryland hosts Howard for a 7:30 PM kickoff, another opportunity to match the standard set the previous week. “Just playing to the standard, you know, coming out and being the same person as we were week one, you know. We don't look at the opponent or we don't look at the scoreboard you know, just come out play hard and see what that gets us on Saturday.”
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