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Eric Gray (American football)

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Eric Gray
refer to caption
Gray in 2023
No. 20 – New York Giants
Position:Running back / Kickoff returner
Personal information
Born: (1999-11-04) November 4, 1999 (age 25)
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Height:5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school:Lausanne Collegiate School
(Memphis, Tennessee)
College:Tennessee (2019–2020)
Oklahoma (2021–2022)
NFL draft:2023 / round: 5 / pick: 172
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 10, 2024
Rushing attempts:29
Rushing yards:74
Receptions:12
Receiving yards:91
Return yards:567
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Eric DeWayne Gray (born November 4, 1999) is a professional football running back and kickoff returner for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tennessee and Oklahoma.

Early life

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Gray grew up in Memphis, Tennessee and attended Lausanne Collegiate School. He was named Tennessee Mr. Football after rushing for 2,251 yards and 38 touchdowns in his sophomore season. As a junior, Gray rushed for 3,151 yards and 45 touchdowns and was selected the Tennessee Gatorade Football Player of the Year and repeated as Tennessee Mr. Football. In his sophomore and junior year, he won the Tennessee High School Championship. Rated a four-star recruit, he initially committed to play college football at Michigan during the summer going into his senior year.[1] He was named the Gatorade Football Player of the Year a second time and Mr. Football for a third straight season as a senior.[2] Towards the end of his senior season, Gray decommitted from Michigan and reopened his recruitment.[3] He ultimately committed to play at Tennessee a few weeks later.[4]

College career

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As a true freshman, Gray gained 539 yards and scored four touchdowns on 101 carries and caught 13 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown.[5][6] He rushed for 246 yards, a school record for a freshman, and three touchdowns in the Volunteers final regular season game against Vanderbilt and was named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week.[7] Gray lead Tennessee with 772 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 157 attempts and also gained 254 yards and scored two touchdowns on 30 receptions.[8] In January 2021, Gray announced that he was entering the transfer portal.[9]

Gray chose to transfer to the University of Oklahoma.[10] In the 2021 season, Gray had 78 carries for 412 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns to go along with 23 receptions for 229 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.[11] In the 2022 season, Gray took over the Sooners' backfield.[12] On November 12 against West Virginia, he had 25 carries for 211 yards and two touchdowns in the road loss.[13] In the 2022 season, Gray had 213 carries for 1,366 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns to go with 33 receptions for 229 receiving yards. He had eight games on the season going over 100 rushing yards and four with two rushing touchdowns.[14]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 9+1⁄2 in
(1.77 m) 		207 lb
(94 kg) 		29+5⁄8 in
(0.75 m) 		9+3⁄4 in
(0.25 m)		 4.62 s 1.55 s 2.64 s 4.10 s 7.17 s 37.5 in
(0.95 m)		 9 ft 10 in
(3.00 m)		 12 reps
Sources:[15][16]

Gray was drafted by the New York Giants in the fifth round, 172nd overall, of the 2023 NFL draft.[17] He was placed on injured reserve on October 25, 2023.[18] He was activated on November 25.

As a rookie, Gray appeared in 13 games. He had a small role on the offense to go with occasional kickoff and punt return duties.[19]

References

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  1. ^ Sang, Orion (July 1, 2018). "Michigan football gets commitment from 4-star running back Eric Gray". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  2. ^ Kreager, Tom (December 6, 2018). "Lausanne's Eric Gray named Tennessee Gatorade football player of year". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  3. ^ McMahon, Eric (December 1, 2018). "4-star RB Eric Gray pulls commitment to Michigan". MLive.com. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  4. ^ Thompson, Khari (December 20, 2018). "UT Vols football recruiting: Eric Gray picks Tennessee". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  5. ^ Paschall, David (August 20, 2020). "Vols' Eric Gray would love to be first 1000-yard rusher in 10 years". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  6. ^ Paschall, David (December 1, 2020). "Tennessee's Eric Gray on a 1,000-yard season: 'I think about that all the time'". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  7. ^ Torres, Aaron (November 30, 2019). "Eric Gray sets UT freshman rushing record". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  8. ^ Wilson, Mike (January 21, 2021). "Eric Gray, Tennessee football's top running back, enters transfer portal". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  9. ^ Brown, Patrick (January 20, 2021). "Tennessee star RB Eric Gray enters NCAA transfer portal". 247Sports. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  10. ^ Rittenberg, Adam (January 27, 2021). "Ex-Tennessee running back Eric Gray heading to Oklahoma as transfer". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  11. ^ "Eric Gray 2021 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  12. ^ "2022 Oklahoma Sooners Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  13. ^ "Oklahoma at West Virginia Box Score, November 12, 2022". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  14. ^ "Eric Gray 2022 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  15. ^ "Eric Gray Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  16. ^ "2023 NFL Draft Scout Eric Gray College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  17. ^ "Giants draft Oklahoma RB Eric Gray with 172nd pick". Giants.com. April 29, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  18. ^ Eisen, Michael (October 25, 2023). "Giants add 2 RBs; Eric Gray, Matt Peart to IR". Giants.com. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  19. ^ "Eric Gray 2023 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
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