Ryan Davis breaks 2 career receiving records

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Ryan Davis hopes he ‘left a mark’ at Auburn after breaking 2 career receiving records

Updated 1:29 PM; Posted 1:29 PM

Auburn wide receiver Ryan Davis became the program's career leader in catches after a 13-reception performance against Georgia. (Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics)

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By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com

tgreen@al.com

Ryan Davis hopes his name is one that resonates through the years when people talk about Auburn football.

After breaking two program career records during Auburn’s 27-10 loss to Georgia, that’s not a huge stretch. Davis became Auburn’s career leader in receptions, and he and quarterback Jarrett Stidham became the most productive passing tandem in school history during Saturday’s game.

“I hope I’ll be remembered as one of the best to come through here,” Davis said. “I’ll leave that to everybody else to decide. I definitely feel like I came here and left a mark.”

Davis had a career-high 13 receptions for 72 yards against the Bulldogs, giving him 165 career catches. His previous career-best was 11 catches in last year’s Iron Bowl, and he entered the day needing just two catches to surpass Courtney Taylor as the Tigers’ all-time leader in that category. Taylor had 153 catches between 2003-06.

It didn’t take long for Davis to etch his name in the record books Saturday. The fleet-footed receiver tied Taylor’s mark on the first play from scrimmage for Auburn, hauling in a 10-yard pass from Jarrett Stidham for No. 153.

“Ryan Davis is a special player,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “He’s meant so much to us during his time here. That’s a big record. He deserves it. He’s a wonderful person, he’s a great competitor and he’s electric with the ball in his hands.”

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Davis broke the record on Auburn’s following possession on a 9-yard crossing route to give the Tigers a first down at the Bulldogs’ 37-yard line. He added another reception on the drive, which produced Auburn’s lone touchdown of the evening.

“It means a lot,” Davis said of the record. “It’s a big accomplishment. I couldn’t have done it by myself. I’ve got to thank God, of course, for getting me to this point and allowing me to accomplish such a big deal. I’m just happy I was able to put myself in the records book here at Auburn.”

Davis didn’t stop there. He and Stidham entered the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry needing 12 completions together to eclipse the program record for quarterback-receiver production held by Pat Sullivan and Terry Beasley. Those two Auburn legends hooked up for 140 completions between 1969-71.

Davis and Stidham one-upped them on Saturday with Davis’ 13th reception of the game — a 3-yard completion on Auburn’s second-to-last play of the game.

“I’ve definitely heard of those two,” Davis said. “They’re Auburn legends, of course, and you definitely hear them through the walls of the facility. To be mentioned in the same breath as those two, that says a lot.”

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Making their achievement a bit more impressive is that Davis and Stidham set that record in less than two seasons together, while Sullivan and Beasley spent three seasons together on the Plains. Davis has been a favorite target of Stidham’s, however, with the receiver breaking the school’s single-season receptions mark with 84 last season, which was Stidham’s first on campus.

“For me and him to have that tandem, it just shows how much work we put in, and in the offseason as well,” Davis said. “It’s a testament to both of us, how much we care about it and just the trust factor we have in each other.”

Davis now has 165 career receptions for 1,477 yards and six touchdowns over the last three seasons, ranking 14th in school history in receiving yards. He has three more games remaining in his Auburn career to further the program’s benchmark for receptions and continue to climb the career receiving yards list. Auburn hosts Liberty next weekend in what will be Davis’ final home game before traveling to Alabama for the Iron Bowl the following week and an eventual bowl game next month.

“I feel like I came in here with my own style of play, something different that maybe Auburn receivers haven’t been like,” Davis said. “Me also being a smaller receiver as well, people don’t probably think smaller receivers can get in the record book. It’s definitely a good feeling. Other smaller receivers can see that they can come in and do the same thing I did. It’s always about building for the next generation.

“Hopefully recruits that come in will see that I did it and can come in and do the same thing and do better. You always want to see people do better. Obviously, I hope my records stay up for a long time, but you always want to see the program get better.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.