Christian Gray Recaps Notre Dame Visit, Sets Decision Date
Cornerback Christian Gray returned to South Bend last week with purpose. It was Gray's fourth visit to campus, but the visit reminded him of his first trip to campus this past summer for an Irish Invasion camp.
“I can remember being nervous," reminisced Gray. “But I wasn’t going to let anything stop me from getting an offer from Notre Dame. I knew that was big opportunity for me and getting the offer meant a lot.”
Once again, Gray returned to campus with a purpose. This time, Gray wanted to dig into how life would be in South Bend. So when he arrived on Wednesday night, Gray went out for dinner and engaged with locals and Notre Dame students that were out around town for the night.
“I wanted to know what it would really be like to live in South Bend," explained the four-star cornerback. “We went out and ate when we got there and talked to some neighbors of the campus at the restaurant to get a feel for the town. It was cool and we met some nice people.”
Next, the St. Louis (Mo.) DeSmet defensive back wanted to know more about campus life at Notre Dame. He spent time exploring the dorms and campus with some of the defensive backs. He always knew that Notre Dame was a great football program and university, but he needed to ask the players what it was really like, especially including the high level of education that’s provided.
Academics are a point of emphasis for Gray and his family, and he wanted to know the full impact of education at Notre Dame.
“I really wanted to see behind the scenes," Gray detailed. “I talked to the other defensive backs about how difficult classes were with the football schedule, and they gave me honest answers. I love the resources they provide for the players, and I like being able to hang around students in the dorms.”
The last thing on Gray’s list of priorities was establishing how his faith would be embraced and enhanced. Gray explained that faith is the foundation of everything he does in his life, and the school he attends must have an environment conducive to his growth. Before his visit, he read about Marcus Freeman reintroducing pregame mass, and it made a positive impression on him.
Once again, he used his time with the defensive backs to unearth the answers he was seeking. But, for this most important priority, he included some of the wide receivers to get a much broader perspective.
“The faith on the team is really amazing," Gray noted. “I always knew Coach Freeman was a man of faith, but talking to the players about their experiences and where they go to church or how they watch it streaming made me feel really good. I can definitely see myself going to Notre Dame.”
Watching the practice was the cherry on top for Gray as he watched the young defensive backs intently. He mentioned watching Jaden Mickey in particular, noting how intense he was. The 6-0, 175-pound cover really liked how competitive the practice was, even at the beginning.
“I loved that they started practice with one on ones," Gray said. “They’re specifically recruiting me to play cornerback and return. They’ve got really nice special teams and watching them return kicks and punts had me pumped. Man, special teams is one of my favorite parts of the game.”
The relationship for Gray and Notre Dame has always been strong, but in recent months other programs have made a strong push for the DeSmet standout.
His recruitment and connection began with Freeman going back to when he was the defensive coordinator, and it has continued to. grow. Gray also continues to stay in constant communication with corners coach Mike Mickens. The winter has seen Gray earn offers from LSU, Alabama and Ohio State.
His former DeSmet head coach (Robert Steeples) is now the corners coach at LSU, and Ohio State has made a hard push since Jim Knowles and his staff arrived to run the defense. Of course, Alabama and Nick Saban's history with defensive backs speaks for itself.
Notre Dame does have one more thing working in its favor, and that's his relationship with the Irish 2023 commits, especially standout linebacker Drayk Bowen.
“Those are my guys," Gray said of the Irish commits. “I talk and hang out with Drayk and the guys all the time. Well, I mean we hang out in the game all time. We’re already like a family.”
Gray's recruitment has an end date in sight, as the standout corner got the nod from his mother to announce his college choice between the Fighting Irish, Ohio State, Alabama and LSU.
“I’m going to make an announcement on the fourth of July," Gray told Irish Breakdown. “My mom didn’t think anyone would show up because of the holiday, but we figured out a way and people are going to show up for it.”
At one time, Notre Dame was considered a heavy favorite for Gray with a chance of getting an early commitment, but he was advised to embrace the entire process of his recruitment by his former head coach, Carl Reed Jr. Christian and his family always knew what they had with Notre Dame and went about the task of building relationships with other programs during February and March. Now, they look forward to the task of making a final decision.
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