Notre Dame Continues To Build A Strong Bond With 2023 Cornerback Christian Gray

Notre Dame enters the 2023 recruiting cycle with cornerback being one of its top priorities. The Irish started off strong by landing Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman standout Justyn Rhett, but Notre Dame needs even more, and one of the priorities at the position is St. Louis (Mo.) De Smet Jesuit star Christian Gray.

De Smet had a fantastic campaign under head coach Carl Reed in 2021, losing to eventual state champion, Christian Brothers in the playoffs. Reed talked about his standout pupil and the talent he is stacked up against on a week-to-week basis at De Smet.

“The St. Louis area is a very talented and competitive area with a ton of Division 1 athletes playing at an elite level," Reed told Irish Breakdown. "St. Louis area football forces you to prove that you’re as good as you might think you are.”

Notre Dame has benefited from that vast talent with running back Kyren Williams, who entered his name into the NFL Draft after piling up 2,793 yards and 31 touchdowns over the last two seasons. Notre Dame landed Top 100 defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio from the area in 2021 and another Top 100 defensive lineman in 2022 when he signed John Burroughs standout Tyson Ford.

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman and his defensive staff are putting on a full court press to secure Gray, who is not only one of the best players in St. Louis, he's one of the best cover players in the country.

“The list of schools that have offered this young man tells you that he’s elite," Reed noted. "He’s long with elite speed and loves to come up and tackle in space. But even more than that, he has the competitive greatness that you look for and he’s never afraid of the moment or the big stage.”

Gray was once believed to be close to committing to an already impressive 2023 defensive class for the Fighting Irish. Since then, he has become more patient in his recruiting process with Notre Dame remaining at the top of his list. Gray has built a strong relationship with the current commits, including star linebacker and current Irish commit Drayk Bowen.

“I always try to reach out to guys to build a relationship," Bowen told Irish Breakdown. "I talk to Christian all the time and our conversations aren’t really about football most of the time. He knows about the brotherhood we’ve established in our class.”

Gray and Bowen recently got a chance to strengthen their bond in person as they both attended Junior Day over the past weekend, where they laughed it up with other recruits and introduced their families to one another. Notre Dame has done a great job of making sure to let Gray know that he’s a priority. His high school coach feels the fit with Notre Dame goes beyond the field.

“Christian is very serious about academics and puts in just as much effort in the classroom as he does on the football field," Reed noted. "That’s why he loves the football big stage, because he’s performed well at the highest level on an off the field. He’s a confident young man.”

Recently, LSU has become an interesting suitor for Gray along with schools like Ohio State, Miami (Fla.), Florida, Oklahoma, USC and Illinois. LSU head coach Brian Kelly was involved with his recruitment before leaving Notre Dame for Bayou country and will more than likely look to get him on campus. Kelly also hired former Notre Dame analyst Kerry Cooks, who is pushing hard for Gray.

“LSU has recently entered the fray based upon his relationship with Coach Cooks, and of course Brian Kelly," Reed said. "Coach Kelly is a really good coach and should be successful at LSU.”

Despite the heat coming from programs jumping on Gray late in the process, the foundation of the “Golden Standard”, relationships with staff and commits, and the “Think Big” message will put Notre Dame right in the middle of this recruitment until the end.

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Notre Dame 2023 Class Big Board

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