Cedric Gray (born October 30, 2002) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...

. He played college football for the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...

Early life

Born in

Fort Washington, Maryland Fort Washington is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It borders the Potomac River, situated 20 miles south of the downtown Washington, DC. As of the 2020 census it had a p ...

, Gray attended Fort Washington Forest Elementary before relocating to

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

in 2013 attending Community House MS and

Ardrey Kell High School Ardrey Kell High School is a public high school serving grades 9–12 in the Ballantyne area of Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. The school is part of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools district. History Established in 2006, Ardrey Kell High ...

. As a wide receiver, he brought in 143 receptions for 2,467 yards and 27 touchdowns, while also rushing for 70 yards and a touchdown. As a linebacker on defense, he tallied 131 tackles with 12 being for a loss, 4.5 sacks, two pass deflections, three interceptions, a fumble recovery, and a forced fumble. Gray committed to play college football at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sys ...

over other schools such as

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city pro ...

Appalachian State Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dough ...

, and

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an ...

College career

As a freshman in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

, Gray recorded three tackles. Gray would break out the following year, earning a starting spot at linebacker for the Tar Heels in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

. In week seven of that season, Gray recorded six tackles with one for a loss, and two interceptions, including the interception to clinch the victory over

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...

. For his performance, he was named the ACC linebacker of the week. In the team's

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivi ...

, Gray posted 13 tackles with two for a loss, but the Tar Heels fell to

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = "Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = G ...

. Gray finished the 2021 season with 99 tackles with six going for a loss, 2.5 sacks, three pass deflections, two interceptions, and a fumble recovery. Gray got off to a strong start to the 2022 season, racking up 13 tackles and an interception in the Tar Heels' thrilling 63–61 win over

. In week five, Gray totaled eight tackles and an interception in a 41-10 win over

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

, 41–10. In week ten, Gray racked up 16 tackles as the Tar Heels beat

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

, 31–28. In the 2022 Holiday Bowl, Gray recorded eight tackles with two for a loss, and a pass deflection, but North Carolina fell to

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

, 28–27. Gray finished the 2022 season with 145 tackles with 12 being for a loss, a sack, six pass deflections, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries, and three forced fumbles, earning first team All ACC honors for his performance. He was also named a second team All-American by Sporting News. Gray was named to the preseason first team All-ACC heading into the 2023 season, and would live up to that projection. He would tally 121 total tackles (64 solo), five sacks, two forced fumbles, and another interception en route to his second-straight first team all-conference nod. He would declare for the

2024 NFL Draft The 2024 NFL Draft will be the 89th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft is scheduled to be held in Detroit, Michigan. Host city Detroit was chosen as the host city on March 28 ...

following the conclusion of the regular season.

References

External links

North Carolina Tar Heels bio
2002 births Living people Players of American football from Charlotte, North Carolina American football linebackers North Carolina Tar Heels football players {{linebacker-stub