The last time Miles Davis crossed the goal line at BYU, he was just a kid out of Las Vegas, and because of the 2020 COVID-19 restrictions, only 936 fans and the marching band watched him do it.

Davis scored twice in the second half as No. 8 BYU blew out North Alabama 66-14 on Nov. 21, 2020, to improve to 9-0 in the most unique season of college football in program history. Since then, the 6-foot, 215-pound running back has been everywhere — except for the end zone.

Too much time in the training room with nagging injuries tested his will. Sliding down the depth chart questioned his future. Both locations left Davis mulling his options — quit or mature and fight back.

He chose to fight back and this fall camp, as the redshirt junior has turned his career around, Davis is turning heads, too.

“From the physical side of it, he’s put on good weight, and he’s gotten a lot faster, which is hard to believe because he was already fast,” said Harvey Unga, BYU’s running backs coach and No. 2 all-time leading rusher. “Then you have the mental side of it — last year he went through some growing pains. This year, he’s in a great spot. He knows the plays and he’s at the point now where he is teaching a bunch of the younger guys and coaching them up.”

As evidence of his turnaround, when the whistle blows and practice ends, Davis remains on the field.

“I’ve learned a lot. You have to stay healthy and take care of your body,” Davis said. “I wasn’t staying after practice to stretch and do stuff like that, but I’m doing it now. You have to go through trials and tribulations to figure it out. This year, I’m trying to win. I don’t care about anything else. I’m just trying to help my team win.”

Davis is part of a three-man attack with LJ Martin and Hinckley Ropati, who are driven to restore respect for BYU’s ground game. The Cougars averaged 3.5 yards per carry last season, which ranked 118 out of 130 Division I programs. Davis managed just 78 yards on 16 carries.

“That’s what Coach Harv has been harping on this whole offseason,” Davis said. “It’s like, ‘You have to put everything on our back, and we’ve got to go!’ Our running game hasn’t been what we want it to be. We are motivated. We have something to prove.”

Career night

With 3:15 left in the fourth quarter of BYU’s 2020 home game against Wyoming, quarterback Jaren Hall handed Davis the football. He moved to his left and cut sharply up the field and saw nothing but his favorite color ahead of him.

“It feels so good when you see green grass. For any running back when you see green grass it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s there! I’m close! Let’s go get it!’” Davis said. “It feels so good to see green grass.”

Davis raced 70 yards across the manicured turf at LES only to be tackled at the 5-yard line. Hall gave him the ball again on the very next play and Davis ran into the end zone for a touchdown — but a holding call brought it back and the Cougars eventually settled for a field goal.

On the night, Davis ran for a career-best 131 yards.

“I showed some of the clips of that game with Miles and the running backs,” Unga said. “Looking at him then and looking at him now, all the guys in the room were like, ‘That was you? Man, you were really skinny back then!’”

Getting ready

For Davis, galloping through the Cowboys secondary seems like forever ago. The golden night was also the last time he has felt as healthy as he does today.

“This is the healthiest I’ve been. I feel good. My body feels good. I love this game,” Davis said. “From the past years to now, it all starts with patience. I feel like that’s what I’m doing. I’m just waiting for my turn.”

Unga sees Davis playing a significant role in the offense.

“He’s had some great practices. He’s taken leaps and bounds from last year to this year,” Unga said. “He is one of the stronger guys in the room. He’s shown me now that he is capable of picking up blocks. He can block linebackers all the way to defensive linemen.”

If Davis does get his turn on Aug. 31 and scores a touchdown, it will be in front of far more than the 936 people who saw his last one — and it will mean so much more to him considering the storms he has weathered to get there.

Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar,” available at deseretbook.com.