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July 18, 2006

Gary Gray Update

By Kevin McCrarey

Richland Northeast defensive back Gary Gray and his mother met with USC football coach Steve Spurrier and his staff for about 45 minutes today. During the meeting Gray did not re-commit to Carolina and told Spurrier that Notre Dame remains in the picture. Gray's mother apparently was very impressed with Notre Dame. As things stand Gray still plans to visit USC on September 9th for the Georgia game and then head to South Bend the following week to watch Notre Dame and Michigan. He hopes to have a decision shortly after that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you believe that Spurrier only spent 45 minutes with him. It's always nice when mom is impressed by ND.

It is going to be a tough battle... I do not think we could planned it better though. We dismantle Michigan and the next week have commitments from GG, Benn, and two or three others.

Also, I find it telling that he is visiting ND after USC which can only be a good thing. Think of the atmosphere at that game after Brady has ripped two green secondaries for two big wins and all those recruits are there soaking in the tradition, talking of how they could go there together and tear it up. I love CW!!!!

In The Film Room: Gary Gray

Tim Prister

IrishIllustrated.com Senior Editor

 

 

When a 5-foot-10, 163-pound kid with 4.5 speed in the 40 is called the best prep cover cornerback in the country, it makes you rather curious to see him on film/tape.

 

 

Most guys listed at that size are actually smaller. Most guys that small don’t tend to be very good run supporters. Most guys listed with a 4.5 40-yard dash time have very good but not great speed.

 

Best cover cornerback in the country? I was curious to say the least.

 

First of all, the size seems about right. Yet Gary Gray is a strong 5-foot-10, 163 pounds. He bench presses 240 and squats 350. Not overwhelming numbers, but pretty darn good for his size. The 4.5 speed in the 40 appears accurate. He’s not a blazer, but he runs very well.

 

Two things about Gray’s game took me aback: his ability against the run and his pass coverage skills. Gray is very fundamentally sound against the run. He uses his hands very well to fend off a blocker, stays square to the line of scrimmage and shows an explosiveness as a tackler. He really does a great job of keeping his weight underneath him.

 

Gray also has excellent timing as a tackler. He doesn’t commit too early, thus, when he explodes into a ball carrier, he drives through the legs of the opponent and disables him. As impressive as Gray is as a pass defender, he’s equally impressive as a run supporter, especially when you consider his size.

 

Rivals.com talent scout Randy Rodgers said that Gray is the best man corner in the country because of his change of direction, his excellent feet, his long arms, and his ability to reach top speed out of breaks.

 

Indeed, there is one clip in which Gray suddenly finds himself in position where he has to turn and run after the receiver going up the sideline. Gray makes that transition smoothly and with ease, and attaches himself to the receiver like Velcro. Very impressive. He accelerates out of his backpedal extremely well, and has a great knack for quickly closing the gap between himself and the receiver. It is that split-second reaction that separates him from the pack.

 

Gray also has played some offense for Richland Northeast High School. He knows how to get open downfield and even threw a couple of passes. He lined up at quarterback on occasion to take advantage of his great athletic skills. But Gray’s natural instincts are on the defensive side of the ball. To even spend any time considering him on the offensive side of the ball would be a waste of natural cornerback skills.

 

I found a couple aspects of Gray’s game peculiar. I was surprised to see that a prospect rated as highly as him “only” has a 27-inch vertical jump. It’s not bad, but it’s not on the level of most football players rated as highly as him. In addition, he almost always runs with the football in his right arm and his left arm tends to swing around wildly as he runs with the football. But there are many more positives associated with Gray’s game than there are negatives.

 

Now the question is: will he stick with South Carolina or choose Notre Dame? Amidst the commotion that he created by publicly announcing that he had re-opened his recruitment, Gray did admit that Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks still hold a slight edge.

 

Irish head coach Charlie Weis took time out of his summer schedule to meet with Gray and his mother, who missed Gray’s unofficial visit to South Bend. Gray then met with Spurrier once again to reaffirm his interest in South Carolina.

 

If I had to bet, I would suspect that a Columbia, S.C. native who previously committed to the Gamecocks and still admits the hometown team has an edge will end up at South Carolina. His mother may prefer Notre Dame. But as Weis said last year, ultimately, this decision comes down to the player himself.

 

One Irish Illustrated subscriber pointed out that a higher percentage of recruits who de-commit end up going to the school they originally spurned. I agree. But there are numerous factors pointing toward Gray eventually sticking with his first instincts, especially since he’s from Columbia.

 

Charlie Weis will have to work some of his recruiting magic to land Gray.

 

 

Link Here

with GG commiting to USC the first time and now saying that USC has the slight edge over ND, im starting to feel that maybe he'll eventually sign with USC.

I'm not worried. My guess is he is getting such pressure (and heat) in SC that he has to relieve it a little with a political answer to ease USC fans. There is a lot of time and just wait until he is up to South Bend for the Michigan. Nothing is like the gameday atmosphere, especially against Michigan.

Tim Prister's breakdown of Gary Gray reminds me of one player in particular: Antoine Winfield

 

Now, being from near Buffalo I'm a real big Bills fan and Winfield played 5 years for us before leaving for Minnesota a couple seasons ago. The guy was a 1st round pick in '99 for a reason: he is a solid cover corner that is even better in run support and a superb tackler. Winfield never had or has the flair of a Champ Bailey or Nate Clements, but he's been a very good corner for the duration of his career, ever since college at OSU.

 

One positive about Gray that doesn't hold true in a comparison to Winfield is GG's ball skills. Apparently the kid is very good at not only making a play on a ball in the air, but actually making interceptions. This is something AW never did as he had 6 INTs in his 5 years in BUF. Anyways, just one guy's comparison. I think GG is going to be a good one and hopefully end up in SB after the events of this weekend.