Johnathan Gray
Personal information
Born: (1993-04-22) April 22, 1993 (age 30)
Aledo, Texas, U.S.
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:207 lb (94 kg)
Career information
Position:Running back
Undrafted:2016
Career history

Johnathan Gray (born April 22, 1993) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He last played for the Frisco Fighters of the Indoor Football League (IFL) in 2021. He played college football for the University of Texas at Austin. He attended Aledo High School in Aledo, Texas. Gray earned a 2011 USA Today High School All-American nomination, and was also named Gatorade National Player of the Year.[1] After becoming the first junior to win ESPN HS's Mr. Football USA,[2] he became the first two-time winner of the award following the 2011 high school football season.[3]

Gray chose the University of Texas over Arkansas, Auburn, TCU, and Texas A&M.

High school career

Gray attended Aledo High School in Aledo, Texas, where he broke the all-time high school touchdown record with 205 eclipsing Mike Hart's record of 204 touchdowns.[4][5] As a junior, he rushed for 323 yards and eight touchdowns in the Texas Class 4A Division II championship game against La Marque High School on December 17 at Cowboys Stadium, which gave him a total of 59 rushing touchdowns for the 2010 high school football season and surpassed Kenneth Hall's single-season record of 57 set in 1953.[2] Gray had rushed for 252 yards and four touchdowns in the 2009 state championship victory over Brenham High School.[2] In 2011, Gray led Aledo to its third straight state championship with 241 rushing yards.[6] Along the way, he scored his 205th touchdown establishing the national high school career record.[4] He finished his high school career first all-time in touchdowns and second all-time in points scored.[7]

High school rushing stats[8]
Year Attempts Yards Average Touchdowns
2008 140 969 6.9 15
2009 372 2,798 7.5 50
2010 351 3,223 9.2 59
2011 346 3,891 11.2 65

Track and field

Gray was also on the school's track & field team, where he competed as a sprinter. He was a 3 time district champion in the 100-meter dash. As a junior in 2009, he won the 100 meters at the 4th Johnny Perkins Pirate Relays, with a career-best time of 10.58 seconds.[9] He also competed in the 200 meters, placing fifth at the 2009 Elk Relays.[10]

Recruiting

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40‡ Commit date
Johnathan Gray
RB 		Aledo, Texas Aledo HS 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 4.53 Apr 22, 2011 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 85
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 1 (RB)   Rivals: 1 (RB)  ESPN: 1 (RB)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2012 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2011-12-23.

College career

Gray tore his right Achilles tendon in 2013, and his left Achilles in 2015.[11] The tendon tears put Gray's career on hold, and Gray went undrafted in the 2016 NFL Draft.[12]

College statistics

Year GP–GS Rushing Receiving
Att Yds Avg TD Long Rec Rec–Yards Avg TD Long
2012 13-5 149 701 4.7 3 49 11 151 13.7 1 34
2013 9-8 159 780 4.9 4 45 15 61 4.1 0 10
2014 13–13 147 637 4.3 7 42 20 122 6.1 0 17
2015 11–11 123 489 4.3 3 46 6 84 14.0 0 26
Totals 43-36 578 2607 4.5 17 49 52 418 8.0 1 34

Professional career

Several NFL teams showed interest in Gray as a free agent following the draft.[13] In 2017, after demonstrating a 4.5-second 40-yard dash and a 36-inch vertical leap at the annual Texas Pro Day workout, Gray landed a tryout with the New York Giants.[14] After attending the Giants' rookie camp, Gray received invites to rookie camps for the Calgary Stampeders, Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League; however, Gray ultimately never played for any of them.[15]

On April 8, 2021, the Frisco Fighters announced that they had signed Gray for the 2021 season.[16]

References

  1. ^ Gray receives Gatorade national award
  2. ^ a b c Jennings, Randy & Mark Tennis (2011-01-19). "Aledo's Johnathan Gray becomes first junior to win Mr. Football USA". ESPN HS. Archived from the original on 2012-01-12. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
  3. ^ McCormick, Jim (2011-12-21). "Johnathan Gray named Mr. Football USA". ESPN HS. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
  4. ^ a b Jennings, Randy (December 17, 2011). "Johnathan Gray sets high school mark". ESPN Dallas. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  5. ^ McDaniel, Jason (December 17, 2011). "Aledo's Gray breaks career TDs record as Manvel falls in state final". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  6. ^ Andrews, Jeff (2011-12-17). "Bishop, Gray lift Aledo to 3rd straight state title". ESPN HS. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
  7. ^ "All-time points and touchdowns leaders". ESPN HS. 2011-12-17. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
  8. ^ "Johnathan Gray". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  9. ^ "Track & Field, Cross Country Results, Statistics".
  10. ^ "Track & Field, Cross Country Results, Statistics".
  11. ^ Lambert, Erik (March 30, 2016). "Johnathan Gray, RB, Texas: 2016 NFL Draft Scouting Report". Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  12. ^ Brandt, Gil (April 30, 2016). "Top undrafted free agents following the 2016 NFL Draft". National Football League. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  13. ^ Martinez, Matthew (September 5, 2016). "Former Aledo great Johnathan Gray hasn't given up on NFL dream". Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  14. ^ Eberts, Wescott (May 2, 2017). "Former Texas RB Johnathan Gray lands tryout with the New York Giants". Burnt Orange Nation. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  15. ^ "Longhorns running back Johnathan Gray on life after football". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. August 7, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  16. ^ "Star RB Johnathan Gray Returns to Football with the Fighters". Frisco Fighters. April 8, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2021.

External links

Mr. Football USA winners
Gatorade High School Football Player of the Year Award
Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year Award
Categories