BOZEMAN, Montana — Julius Davis might seem a little crazy if he’s looking you in the eyes during the heat of competition.
And that’s what he wants you to think.
The notion that Davis is unhinged was accentuated when he had a post-game blowup following Montana State’s 21-13 win over Yale in the second round of the FCS Playoffs. Plenty has been written and commentated about the incident.
But for those who know him best, Davis’s piercing glare and his passionate way of being is his greatest strength, both as a teammate and as a football player.
“The edge he brings, I think it’s misunderstood and I think it was blown out proportion a little while ago,” Montana State junior captain offensive lineman Titan Fleishmann said last week. “I think Julius is one of the most loyal teammates and most loyal guys on this team. And I think he is one of the fiercest competitors I’ve ever played football with.”
Davis isn’t unhinged. He’s deliberate in channeling his energy, then unleashing it with a ferocity very few players in the FCS, or college football for that matter, possess. The former Wisconsin transfer has been an aberration when he’s been able to stay healthy, rushing for almost 2,100 and 18 touchdowns over the last three seasons, earning All-Big Sky honors in 2023 and 2025 for the top running team in the country.
The intensity and edge Davis plays with comes from a childhood growing up in rural Wisconsin dreaming of the whole world, working toward D-I dreams all while he battled figuring out a way to survive.
As he’s matured and evolved, finding his way as a man and as a football player since sparking a renewal by transferring to MSU, the 5-foot-10, 215-pound ball of aggressiveness has honed a process to channel his intrinsic drive.
Davis calls it the “crux drill”. He gets mentally prepared by settling himself, then by going through his performance statement, a deliberate list of things he wants to achieve on that specific Saturday. Then he takes a few deep breaths and he talks with himself about his football “why”. Then he thinks about his family back home in Wisconsin and now in Nashville (his father and grandmother both live in the city that will host Davis’s last college football game on Monday night).
Then Davis thinks about the brothers he’s grown with at Montana State. And then he thinks about all the people who doubted him.
“I always think about how I’m going to prove myself right but also to remind myself that I do it for the name on the front of the jersey, then I do it to honor those that gave me the name on the back,” Davis said.
“I’ve always thought that staying focused is harder if you are getting everything you want. You get first team All-American, you get first team all-conference, that’s the easier way of getting caught up. And I’ve NEVER wanted to be caught up.
“For me, I set those goals and I have not gotten the goals that I wanted when it comes to those types of things. That said, my ultimate goal is winning and that’s what we do here. But when I see certain guys in front of me, above me, that gets me fired up. That creates that edge that I play with — proving people wrong.”
Davis has made a name for himself because of his physical running style and his spectacular ability to hurdle defenders.
He’s had multiple “viral” moments during his Bobcat career because of his penchant for leaping over descending defenders.
“I wish I could say I have something to do with him and his style, but I don’t. He’s a freak,” Montana State running backs coach Josh Firm said with a laugh. “It’s gotten to the point where we have tried to tell him let’s start using some other moves at the second and third level just for his own body. But he’s just so good and such a natural with everything he does.”
The edge that Davis plays with has been a challenge to learn how to manage and channel for his coaches only because the notion that your greatest strength is your greatest weakness holds true when it comes to elite athletes.
“It’s being dialed in appropriately,” Montana State head coach Brent Vigen said. “Some guys, they run hot and that’s certainly the case with Julius. His passion and emotion and aggression, that plays out with how he runs the football. He’s running hot most every moment of a game whether he’s in or out. That’s who he is. I don’t think it would work otherwise for him. But being able to channel those emotions and in particular in that situation when the game is done, we have to be able to do that.
“Some guys are wired in certain ways and that’s how he’s wired and I think I have a pretty good understanding of who he is.”
Because of his consciousness of how he’s wired and the love he has for the game of football, Davis has been intentional about his crux drill and other ways of channeling his energy.
“His growth here…. that aggressiveness used to take over his mental more than it does now,” Montana State wide receivers coach Sam Mix, who was the running backs coach the last two years, said. “He has two different channels to fuel his passion and fuel his play now. It’s been awesome to see him grow in that regard. You don’t want to lose your strength and that’s a weapon for him. He does a good job channeling it now.”
And while aggressiveness can sometimes come off as abrasiveness or confrontation, that’s not the case with the Bobcat senior.
Instead, Davis is considerate and engaging. Talking to him, he looks you intently in the eyes and absorbs what you are saying. It’s a trait that’s endeared him to the entire Bobcat locker room over the last three years.
“He’s such a great teammate and he cares about people, too,” Fleishmann said. “A lot of guys can look at you in the eye but really nothing is going on in their brain. He remembers that stuff. And he’ll come back later. If I’m telling him about some personal stuff, he’ll come back later and he’ll ask me how it’s going. He’s just a great dude.”
Montana State’s ability to run the ball has been a trademark and an identity for most of the 21st century. Last season, Davis suffered a devastating lower leg injury last spring. That ended up costing him all but four games of 2024 as MSU won 15 straight games to advance to the national title game.
In his absence, Scottre Humphey morphed into an All-American and Adam Jones had one of the most memorable breakout freshman years in the history of the Big Sky Conference. The injury messed with Davis’s mental as much challenged him physically. He contemplated walking away from the game.
But Davis’s relationship with Jones — they call each other the “evil twins” with Jones wearing No. 23 and Davis wearing No. 32 — and his love for the Montana State community helped spur on his inspiration to return to the Bobcats.
Jones is a discerning, even-keeled personality who displays a servant leadership style. That’s a sharp contrast to Davis’ personality and way of being. The duo is not only a great one-two punch — they have combined for 2,147 yards and 23 touchdowns on the ground — but also a great yin-and-yang for the Bobcat offense.
“Julius has been such a huge factor in Adam’s development and those guys look up to him,” Mix said. “It’s a two-headed monster with those two and such an important part is the respect those two have for each other.”
“He and Adam comes in here early before every position meeting we have and they are talking on the opponent, how the linebackers are fitting inside zone, outside zone, gap schemes. They go through all of that,” Firm added. “He’s really taken on that role of ‘how do I take my game to the next level.’ He’s gotten so much better in that way and that’s helped him have this huge.”
Coming out of Menomonie Falls High in Wisconsin, Davis was a three-star recruit. He was a second-team all-state selection as a junior before getting injured his senior season — “Playing that position and how he plays it, injuries probably come with the territory,” Vigen said — yet he still was able to field an offer from the in-state Wisconsin Badgers.
He finished his career with 3,067 rushing yards and 32 touchdowns, including 537 yards and six TDs in the two games he did play his senior year. Davis had 1,762 yards and 17 touchdowns as a junior.
He committed to Wisconsin and redshirted in 2019. In 2020, he got one carry against Minnesota in his only action of the season. In 2021, he played in the season’s final five games, rolling up 109 yards on 21 carries. In 2022, he had an injury that limited him to 13 carries in 90 yards in three games, including 37 yards against Illinois State.
Following 2022, Davis earned his undergraduate degree in marketing and sales. He also decided he wanted new scenery.
“I’d never lived outside of Wisconsin and the majority of my reason to going to Wisconsin is I could have my family close,” Davis said. “My family is not as fortunate. We are well-off but not fortunate enough to make a lot of things. I wanted to stay home. I had the opportunity.
“Wasn’t able to play there as much as I wanted to, which was fine, because I was still able to develop myself as a player and as a man. Then, coming to this place, it was just a different atmosphere. You could feel the vibe, the way things went, talking to the coaches, talking to the community, seeing the way the community interactions with the coaches, with the players, with recruits. They want to tell you all about the place. They love Montana. How much they love Montana is what sparked curiosity in me to figure out why do they love it so much.”
That curiosity sparked Davis to go explore. He’s gotten into outdoor activities. He’s become an engaged member of the community.
“Never letting any problem be too big,” Davis said. “Being able to lean on others, being able to be with a community, know what a sense of community feels like… when you are at a bigger school, you have a community but it’s not as personal or as intimate, so being able to learn to be out of my comfort zone. Taking risks, being open-minded, and attacking opportunities head on, attacking adversity head on, that’s what this has brought me.”
Davis enters Monday’s national championship game against Illinois State with exactly 1,100 yards during his senior season. He’s scored eight touchdowns and was a second-team All-Big Sky selection despite splitting carries with Jones almost right down the middle.
He has been a tone setter, a leader and an emotional inspiration for a team that has won 13 games in a row.
“I think the biggest factors, the biggest determining element when you are a football player is who are you when the lights are on,” Mix said. “Who makes the most of the moment? Who is a gamer? Julius comes alive when the lights are on.”
Davis is one of only nine seniors on the Bobcat football roster. Sending those nine out with a moment of immortality is a huge motivation for the rest of the Bobcats.
“With roses,” Jones said. “There’s only one way for him to go out. I’m so thankful I’ve gotten to play with Julius the last three years. The way he’s bought into me and the way I’ve bought into him is a pretty special bond. We are hoping to send him off in the best way possible.
“He’s a dude I can count on to fire me up on game day and I’m there to calm him down when I can,” Jones said. “Which isn’t always an easy task, but I think we made a great combination.”
“I take a lot of joy in how he is on game day and if you don’t enjoy that, you don’t really understand him. It comes from a really good place. If everyone knew his story, you would love that dude.”
Davis doesn’t mind if you don’t understand him. Because those that do love him. He’s closing in on a master’s degree in nutrition and exercise science to go with his marketing undergrad degree. His football future may have another chapter. Or it may have just one game.
For this week, Davis is not focused on the future. He is squarely concentrating on helping Montana State win its first national championship in 41 years.
“The best part about it is I get this opportunity to have one more game with the guys,” Davis said. “Especially last year, having to sit and watch the game, I think that gives me a little more fuel, a little more fire, a little more fight to know that this is bigger than me. This is bigger than any selfish thoughts.
“This is huge for this program. This is huge for this university. Anything that is to come, any opportunities that are after, those are after. We are dialed in. This is the last game I get with my brothers at Montana State. We WILL maximize it to the fullest of our capabilities and try to make history.”
