‘He’s Done Really Well’: Gundy Says UCO Transfer Receiver Terrill Davis Is Exceeding Early Expectations

STILLWATER — Terrill Davis didn’t play high school football until he was a senior at Choctaw, but basically ever since he strapped a helmet on, he’s been making plays.

That has apparently continued into the start of Oklahoma State’s fall camp. Davis joined the Cowboys from Central Oklahoma after an All-American 2024 season, and according to OSU coach Mike Gundy, the transition up a level and up the interstate has been smooth.

“He’s done really well,” Gundy said. “I would say he’s exceeded my expectations, just based on my history. He’s very mature. I think he’s comfortable because he’s from right down the road. It was an easy transition for him. He was able to get in here in the summer and work and train with Coach (Rob) Glass, and he took advantage of it.

“He seems to be picking up the game and our system quickly. At this point – and we’ve only been in shoulder pads a couple days – but at this point, he looks like he’s going to hold up physically. And if he could do that over the next 10 days, then he’ll be in position to help us win games this fall.”

Davis led the Choctaw basketball team in scoring and assists as a high school junior, but when COVID-19 shut down basketball gyms, some coaches got into his ear about playing football.

“I wanted to go to college for basketball, and then the football coaches kind of let me know that I have better shot at going to college for football,” Davis said. “So my senior year, I kind of made that jump onto the field.”

Those coaches were right. In his first season playing football, Davis was named the District 6A-II-2 (Oklahoma classifications are getting weird) Offensive Player of the Year and helped lead Choctaw to the state championships game.

Because of his late jump into the sport, he didn’t have a ton of Division-I interest, but Davis signed with Central Oklahoma over offers from East Central and Southwestern Oklahoma State. He redshirted his freshman season in 2021, but it didn’t take long for him to start standing out.

Davis played in eight games as a redshirt freshman in 2022, starting three of those contests. He caught a dozen passes for 141 yards.

If that was a step forward, Davis leapt into the 2023 season, playing in all 11 of the Bronchos games where he led UCO with 43 catches, 538 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns.

The growth continued to be exponential last season. Davis led all NCAA players regardless of division with 1,609 receiving yards to go with 15 touchdowns. He had seven games with at least 100 receiving yards and eclipsed 200 receiving yards on three occasions. Davis put up a Rashaun Woods-esque stat line against Fort Hays State in late September, catching nine passes for 217 yards and four touchdowns.

Division-I programs weren’t going to miss out this time. When Davis hit the portal in April, he announced offers from 15 D-I schools, and the Oklahoman wanted to stay in state.

“As a young kid, you always want to go play for OSU or OU,” Davis said. “I’m just glad that I get to finish out my college career here.”

Recent history has proved positive for lower level wide receivers transferring to Stillwater.

Back in 2023, Leon Johnson III transferred to OSU from Division-III George Fox. The initial plan was to redshirt Johnson but injuries forced him into further action, and he finished his lone year of D-I football with 33 catches for 539 yards and a touchdown. He had two games of 100+ receiving yards, helping the Pokes to a 10-win season and the Big 12 title game.

Davis isn’t the only D-II All-American lacing cleats up for the Cowboys this fall. He is joined by Emory & Henry (Virginia) transfer Cameron Abshire, who caught 51 passes for 1,057 yards and 13 touchdowns last season.

“Cam’s my guy,” Davis said. “We built a good relationship over the summer. We both came from D-II, and we just want to prove that D-II people can play, too.”

Davis had only had a handful of Division-I practices before meeting with reporters for the first time as a Cowboy on Saturday, but so far he hasn’t ran into a reason as to why he can’t continue to be successful despite the increased competition.

“I feel like over the summer, it kind of got me adjusted to the transition,” Davis said. “I feel like during the first day of practice it went pretty smooth. It was a smooth transition for me.”