Texas and Mississippi are different states, and the overall program atmosphere is different.
At least, that’s how Ole Miss kicker Cayden Davis feels after his time at Texas A&M ended.
Appearing on the “Ivy League” podcast, Davis said that despite growing up an Aggies fan, what he expected from College Station and what he actually got was very different from his opinion of the program.
“Ole Miss and A&M are very different culturally,” Davis said. “I’ve loved it here ever since I got here.”
Davis spent four seasons with the Aggies before opting to transfer after Jimbo Fisher was fired. He was a fixture on practice days but rarely took the field outside of kickoffs, and even then, he would share practice duties with multiple players.
Fresh off the best finish in program history, Davis will be in the spotlight this fall as he is given the opportunity to play as the starting placekicker at Ole Miss. As they expect to continue their quest for a College Football Playoff berth, Davis will be in the running to stay in the SEC and help the Rebels succeed in what will hopefully be a memorable season.
“The coaching staff, players and locker room culture here is completely different than what we have at Texas A&M,” Davis said, “and that’s a big reason why we’ve had success here and not so much success at A&M.”
Last season with the Rebels, Davis finished with 18-of-23 field goal attempts, 7-of-7 kicks from under 30 yards and 10-of-51 point-after kicks.
Perhaps his biggest kick came against his former team. With Texas A&M visiting, Davis kicked 22 yards to give Ole Miss a 10-point lead entering the fourth quarter. Quinshon Judkins’ 1-yard touchdown run in the final two minutes gave the Rebels a 38-35 victory.
During that game, Davis’ first field goal was blocked, going for a 75-yard touchdown. He remembers the kick feeling so far off his foot that it felt great, but then Jacoby Matthews got his hands on the ball and started running.
“I saw the ball go sideways, but before I could react it was already picked up and I started running. I guess I just wasn’t strong enough,” Davis said.
The Rebels have the sixth-best odds to win the national championship in 2024-25 and produced six preseason All-SEC selections on Friday.
