After Frustrating 2021 Campaign, Oklahoma RB Eric Gray Ready to 'Dominate' in 2022
NORMAN — Last season didn’t quite go to plan for Eric Gray.
The Tennessee transfer left Knoxville looking to play a key role in one of college football’s most explosive offenses.
Instead, he was relegated to the change-of-pace back behind OU star Kennedy Brooks.
Still, Gray was one Oklahoma’s most explosive players on an often faltering offense, something that was a small solace to Gray in an otherwise frustrating season.
Facing adversity, the Memphis native didn’t hang his head. Instead, Gray said last year was an opportunity for growth.
“As a player… when things don’t go your way, you think about, ‘How can I get better?’ ” Gray said Wednesday. “I think last year was just a way for me to get better. I can still look at my runs from last season and say, ‘OK, I can get better there’ and help me in this season.’ I think last season was a stepping stone for me and my growth to getting better physically and mentally.”
Throughout the year, Gray said he didn’t regret arriving in Norman, and was instead focused on making the best of the situation for himself.
“You can either look at it as an obstacle – ‘Man, I never should have come here, I should have stayed where I was at, I was at a good place,’ ” said Gray. “Or you can look at it as an opportunity – ‘I came here, I got to make own my decision.’ You have to make the best of your decision and ultimately you have to go out there and dominate when you can.”
The adversity didn’t stop once the season came to a close.
Oklahoma’s program was turned upside-down by the coaching change, sending everyone into brief uncertainty.
Luckily for Gray, running backs coach DeMarco Murray was there to bridge the gap and be someone Gray could lean on until Brent Venables and Jeff Lebby were installed on staff.
“When Lincoln (Riley) left, it put everybody in a bind,” Gray said. “But being able to talk to DeMarco and him saying, ‘I’m here’ — so with DeMarco, I trusted in him to say he’s here, so I’m here. DeMarco’s the reason I came to be able to learn from a great, learn from somebody that played at that level I want to go to.”
Now everyone has a blank slate, and Gray is hoping to make the most of it in Lebby’s offense.
And already, Gray is leading the way not just on the field but off it for the Sooners’ running backs.
“He's done a terrific job,” Murray said of Gray before spring practice started. “Even last year, coming to this new system, he picked it up within a week or two. This offense, now we're all learning it together. He may know it better than I do right now. He's a pro. He's extremely sharp in what he does on and off the field, and he's handling it the right way.”
Murray isn’t the only OU coach who is excited about the difference Lebby could bring to the Oklahoma run game.
Cale Gundy praised Lebby’s understanding of the ground attack, as a former offensive lineman will now be calling the plays in Norman.
The wider receiver splits to help spread the defense in Lebby’s offens , paired with the break-neck pace the Sooners want to operate at, should create plenty of opportunities for Gray and his fellow running backs to shine.
“Watching that film, you can definitely see that (Lebby) knows what he’s doing,” Gray said. “He knows how to scheme up a play to get the back in space. Once I get in space, I’m going to make the man miss.”
On top of all the extra space Gray will have to work with in 2022, he also hopes the OU offense will catch defenses on their heels.
“There’s been a lot of times already where you see the defensive guys looking at the sideline when we run a play,” Gray said. “I’m already on the second level and they haven’t even seen me with the ball. It makes it easier for me to get to that second level and make that third-level guy miss and take it to the house.”
As spring practice approaches the halfway point in the coming week, Gray said there’s still much he can add to his game.
He’s said he’s hoping to bring another level of physicality to the field this fall, which he hopes will allow him to become an every-down back and an even bigger threat in Lebby’s offense.
Regardless, his coaches say his talent is undeniable, and it’s just a matter of time until he breaks out onto the scene in Norman.
“He definitely was our most explosive player on offense last year and I don’t see how that’s going to change with his work ethic,” Murray said. “Obviously we have a lot of great players on offense but Eric can do a lot of great things and not just from the running backs position.
“Obviously we line him up and slide a lot, obviously in the return game, obviously outside receiver, inside receiver. He’s extremely dynamic and we’re extremely happy to have him.”
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