Johnathan Gray (born April 22, 1993) is a former

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

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

. He played for the

Frisco Fighters The Frisco Fighters are an inactive professional Indoor American football, indoor football team based in Frisco, Texas. A member of the Indoor Football League, the Fighters play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team was set to partic ...

of the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional indoor American football league in the United States. The league comprises 14 teams, divided equally between the Eastern Conference (EC) and Western Conference ...

(IFL) in 2021. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

. He attended Aledo High School in Aledo, Texas. Gray earned a 2011 ''USA Today'' High School All-American nomination, and was also named ''

Gatorade Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. The drink is owned and manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was develope ...

'' National Player of the Year. After becoming the first junior to win ''

ESPN HS ''ESPN HS'' was a high school sports magazine published monthly during the school year in 25 markets around the United States. Founded as ''SchoolSports'' magazine in 1997, the publication changed its name to ''RISE'' in 2006 and was purchased ...

'' Mr. Football USA, he became the first two-time winner of the award following the 2011 high school football season. Gray chose the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

over

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, Auburn,

TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...

, and

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

Early life

Gray attended Aledo High School in

Aledo, Texas Aledo ( ) is a city in Parker County, Texas, Parker County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,858 in 2020. The city is served by the Aledo Independent School District. History The Parker post office was established in 1880 by Littlebe ...

, where he broke the all-time high school

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

record with 205 eclipsing Mike Hart's record of 204 touchdowns. 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 La Marque High School is a public high school in La Marque, Texas, United States in Greater Houston. The school, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Texas City Independent School District (TCISD); prior to July 1, 2016, the scho ...

on December 17 at

Cowboys Stadium AT&T Stadium is a retractable roof stadium in Arlington, Texas, United States. It serves as the home of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL), and was completed on May 27, 2009. It is also the home of the Cotton Bowl Classic ...

, 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. Gray had rushed for 252 yards and four touchdowns in the 2009 state championship victory over

Brenham High School Brenham High School is a public high school located in the city of Brenham, Texas, United States. It is classified as a 5A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Brenham Independent School District located in central Washington County. In 20 ...

. In 2011, Gray led Aledo to its third straight state championship with 241 rushing yards. Along the way, he scored his 205th touchdown establishing the national high school career record. He finished his high school career first all-time in touchdowns and second all-time in points scored. Gray was also on the school's

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

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 The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

at the 4th Johnny Perkins Pirate Relays, with a career-best time of 10.58 seconds. He also competed in the

200 meters The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

, placing fifth at the 2009 Elk Relays.

College career

Gray tore his right Achilles tendon in 2013, and his left Achilles in 2015. The tendon tears put Gray's career on hold, and Gray went undrafted in the

2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL draft was the 81st annual draft of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

College statistics

Professional career

Despite being injured while preparing for the draft, several NFL teams showed interest in Gray as a free agent following the draft. 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 The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. After attending the Giants' rookie camp, Gray received invites to rookie camps for the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

and

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

; however, Gray ultimately never played for any of them. On April 8, 2021, the

announced that they had signed Gray for the 2021 season. He played for them for one season, helping them to a league-best 15-3 record and into the second round of the playoffs.

Coaching

Following his one season in the IFL, he retired as a player and became an assistant coach for his alma mater Aledo High School.

References

External links

Texas Longhorns bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Johnathan 1993 births Living people People from Aledo, Texas American football running backs Aledo High School (Texas) alumni Texas Longhorns football players Frisco Fighters players Under Armour All-American football players Players of American football from Texas