Notre Dame CB Christian Gray Preparing to Take Momentum Into Clemson Clash
It had been a moment Christian Gray had been waiting for his entire life.
The freshman cornerback made his first collegiate interception against Pitt last Saturday and it was a culmination of years of work, but it also meant a great deal personally for Gray as his grandmother passed away over the summer.
“I wanted to tear up, but everybody was holding me,” Gray stated. “It was a lot and I love the family, love how everybody came to me, like the whole team, saying, ‘Yeah Christian! Congratulations!’
“I’m like the little bro on the team, the little brother that they possibly never had. It was just amazing, and then I was just ready to cry on the sideline. I was just like, ‘My granny was here.’ I was thanking God so many times because I’ve been praying for the longest. I said the first pick I get goes to my granny. It was amazing.”
Gray, who was one of the top cornerbacks in the country coming out of high school, wasn’t surprised by making a big play as that’s what he came to Notre Dame to do. Yet, it was another small box checked as the St. Louis native looks to earn more playing time and gain more confidence heading into next year.
“It was really exciting, but I had to treat it like it was another thing,” explained Gray. “I had to treat it like I started before, like I played in this game before. I have played this game a couple times. There’s nothing to be nervous about, really nothing to be scared of. Just go out there and ball out and have fun.”
Notre Dame was without All-American Benjamin Morrison last weekend, which meant Gray and sophomore Jaden Mickey were thrust into more significant roles. The moment wasn’t too big for Gray as he had played 75 snaps on the year entering the contest.
“My mindset was locked in, focus up,” Gray said. “I wasn’t scared at all because I knew I belonged here. That’s what Coach told me. He recruited me to be out here, to play. He trusts me out on that field and I’m gonna go ball out.”
And yes, the 5-foot-11, 180-pounder might have felt confident in a larger role, but it was a process to get there.
Gray enrolled early at Notre Dame, but his spring was cut short when he needed his knee scoped. It was a challenging moment as he was trying to find comfort as a freshman on and off the field, but also put himself in a position to play in the fall.
“I didn’t have that confidence because I was very, very, very nervous,” Gray said of his spring. “What if I fail? What if I become a redshirt? What if I get hurt? I was going through so much in my mind that I wasn’t even recognizing how bad I looked on the field with that mindset.”
Notre Dame’s medical team said Gray’s recovery would be around two months, but he was back on the field three weeks after surgery.
The ability to get back on the field allowed Gray to work on his game, but also gain the confidence that is showing this fall.
“That clicked when my knee clicked,” stated Gray. “I was like, ‘Oh shoot. How can I get through this?’ One thing you can do is you can get better through this mentally and physically, or you can just lay down. I chose to get back up again, just get stronger.”
It’s another example of the bumpy road to better that Marcus Freeman brings up almost weekly in his press conferences. Gray faced some adversity, beat it and is now ascending.
Gray is also quick to give credit to cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens for pushing him mentally as it’s expanded his game.
“Like formations, with knowing the quarterback, knowing the wide receivers, studying the wide receivers,” Gray said of where Mickens has helped him the most. “Just getting better mentally. He knows I’m gonna get better physically and everything, but mentally, he helps me with that. Knowing the playbook, that’s the big factor.”
Mickens has also pushed Gray to improve his technique and some of the finer details of his game on the field. It’s not uncommon for Mickens to put Gray in various situations to teach critical lessons, which will lead to plays like last Saturday’s.
“He’s just been putting me out there, putting me in predicaments and everything else,” Gray explained. “He’s just putting me with the first string, so he was just trying to see where I’m at
“He showed me why I was here and everything. He helped me with the playbook, studied so hard in every way and just prepared, my confidence grew up. Every play I made on the field, confidence grew knowing what I gotta do. Even if I mess up, I can just watch it on the field.”
As for this weekend, Gray will look to build on an impressive performance as the Irish travel to Clemson.
“It’s been my dream,” said Gray. “Death Valley. Playing in that environment, it’s a dream come true. It’s a blessing to go in there and ball out. It’s Clemson. There’s nothing else to really say. Just ball out and dominate.”
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