Miles Davis finds new purpose at USU

Utah State running back Miles Davis doesn’t see the game the way he used to. Having transferred to USU from Brigham Young University, Davis enters this season with a new perspective: It’s not just about chasing wins but about playing for his team. 

Davis, a former wide receiver, has only begun to prove himself as a great addition to the team. Having spent five seasons at BYU, he arrived in Logan with plenty of experience but also a hunger for a fresh start. The transition wasn’t just about switching schools or positions — it was about finding a new purpose in the game. 

“Once I got to meet these coaches and got to see the campus and got to see all these beautiful mountains around, it was a done deal,” Davis said about his decision to transfer to USU.  

Growing up in an athletic family, Davis was always competing, especially with his older siblings. It’s his competitive mindset that kept him going and set him on the path to becoming a student-athlete. From a young age, Davis dreamed of making it to the NFL, chasing every opportunity to improve and prove himself. 

“I knew I wanted to play sports because I always wanted to compete against my big brothers and my big sisters,” Davis said. “I ended up playing basketball at first and then track. I was racing my big brother, and I used to get mad I couldn’t beat them, but as I was getting mad I couldn’t beat them, I was able to beat other kids.” 

Davis started out playing basketball and running track, where he showed his competitive nature early on. His main goal was to beat his older siblings, and the frustration of not succeeding pushed him to work harder. This motivation helped him do well in track and also built the speed and toughness he later used in football. 

His love for the game clicked after his very first football experience on one of football’s biggest stages. 

“I got to play my very first football game at the Dallas Cowboys stadium,” Davis said. “After I got to meet them, I was like, ‘I think I want to play football.’ I was sold.” 

That fire hasn’t faded, but Davis has learned how to channel it as a leader.  

“I feel like I’m an okay leader, but there’s always room for improvement,” Davis said. “I’ve got that competitive mindset. Not everybody has that all the time. So sometimes when we’re super tired, I’m like, ‘Bro, you’re not tired, you’re not tired.’ But they don’t want to hear that — they really are tired. I find myself having to back off a little.” 

Davis sees leadership as more than just playing football as he handles the challenges of being a student-athlete. Since the start, he has balanced football with his schoolwork. His parents taught him school should come before sports. 

“My mom and dad always told me, ‘You’ve got to be a student-athlete. And so, you have to be a student first no matter what because the athlete part is only a short period of our life but the student part is so long,’” Davis recalled.  

That mindset is something Davis tries to instill in younger players. 

“I always joke around with the freshmen,” Davis said. “I’m always telling them, ‘Make sure you go to class’ and stuff like that. Especially the young guys in the running back room, like, ‘Did you go to class today?’”  

While Davis is quick to point out his own flaws as a leader, his teammates see a different picture.  

“When Miles first came in, he was a little quiet at first, but then once everyone started welcoming him in, he started stepping up — being the leader that he was supposed to be,” said USU running back Derrick Jameson. “He helped me with the plays a lot. Even just, like, mental — he helps with that a lot, just having someone to talk to or just go to.” 

Those experiences have shown Davis leadership isn’t only about pushing teammates to their limits — it’s about understanding them. His competitive edge has always driven him, but he’s starting to see football is bigger than individual effort. The game is no longer just about racking up wins or proving himself. It’s about building trust, lifting up his teammates and playing for something larger than himself. 

“Playing here made me realize that it means something,” Davis said. “Like it always meant something to me, but here is a deeper meaning. I feel like I was always playing for myself. I’m not just playing for myself. It goes back to, ‘What’s my why?’ It wasn’t just because I wanted to play football or I was having fun here. I feel like coach Bronco [Mendenhall] instilled a deeper meaning.” 

That “why,” Davis said, is his teammates.  

“It’s all these boys on the field right now,” Davis said. “These boys have been here from winter workouts, summer workouts all the way through, and so now I’m not just playing for myself or my dad, I’m playing for these guys.” 

While Davis insists his focus is on the team, his play hasn’t gone unnoticed.  

“Davis is the only FBS player to have a game this season with at least 50 rushing yards and multiple receiving touchdowns. The only other MW player to have such a game over the last six seasons is Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty in 2023 at Memphis,” wrote Phil Perry, the Mountain West Conference assistant commissioner of strategic communications, in an email to The Utah Statesman. 

For Davis, the numbers are only part of the story. His real goal is to keep improving and to find new ways to support his teammates.  

“It does get stressful,” Davis admitted. “But once you have the mindset of, ‘I’m loving everybody here right now, I love the HURD, I love my dad coming to the game,’ I count them as the 12th man caring for us. And I focus on the guys that are on the field.”