Joshia Davis adds his name to the transfer portal

BOULDER — Another Buff is leaving the program.

Colorado running back Joshia Davis will enter the NCAA Transfer Portal, 247Sports’ Adam Munsterteiger reported Tuesday. Davis carried the ball 29 times for 69 yards in three seasons as a Buffalo. He will have three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Davis is the 13th Buffalo to enter the portal since the start of November, joining Alec Pell, Jayden Simon, Chris Carpenter, Trustin Oliver, Zephaniah Maea, Keith Miller, La’Vontae Shenault, Ashaad Clayton, Mekhi Blackmon, Mark Perry, Brenden Rice and Christian Gonzalez. The only Pac-12 school with as many transfers leaving its program in that time is USC, with 15.

Like most of the names listed above, Davis is likely transferring in an effort to find more playing time. He was solid in minimal reps in his first two seasons, but opted to redshirt in 2021 in order to focus on developing physically rather than competing for touches in a crowded backfield.

The Buffs will return Jarek Broussard and Alex Fontenot in 2022, assuming neither enters the transfer portal. Fontenot was the starter in 2019 and Broussard was the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year in 2020. CU also returns Deion Smith and Jayle Stacks. The Buffs also added Victor Venn, a speedster from Georgia, in their 2022 recruiting class.

Still, Colorado is likely to look to the portal for more depth in the backfield. Five scholarship backs is on the lighter side and the Buffs have open scholarships to burn, thanks to the number of entries in the portal.

The biggest name to watch is Minnesota’s leading rusher from a year ago, Ky Thomas. He contributed 868 yards and six touchdowns to the Gopher offense, while averaging five yards per carry, and entered the transfer portal a week ago with three years of eligibility remaining. The Buffs quickly offered Thomas a scholarship.

CU hired Mike Sanford Jr. as offensive coordinator last month, following a two-season stint with Minnesota. He brought tight ends coach Clay Patterson with him. The ties are certainly there.