McNair's Memory Motivates Alcorn's New QB Coach

Steve McNair drew countless fans to the stands at Alcorn State during his college career.

Now, well over 20 years after he played his last game there and more than 10 years since his death, he has drawn one person to the sidelines.

Quinn Gray recently was named Alcorn’s quarterbacks coach. Part of the appeal for the 40-year-old was the connection to McNair, who finished third in Heisman Trophy voting as a senior and then had a 13-year NFL career during which he was named the Co-MVP in 2003.

"I met Steve because we played against each other a few times,” Gray said, according to WAPT-TV (Ch. 16) in Jackson, Miss. “It was a few years I got the chance to compete against him.

“We had that respect for each other. I knew who he was. He knew who I was coming from a HBCU and always shared that respect for each other. We shared that respect being in the NFL from a HBCU and on top of that talking about being quarterbacks from HBCUs."

Gray played at Florida A&M from 1998-2001 and broke all of that program’s significant career passing records. He then spent seven seasons in the NFL, mostly with Jacksonville, and started four games for the Jaguars in 2007. He also spent time in NFL Europe.

At Alcorn, he will work for Steve McNair’s older brother Fred, who has been the head coach for the past four years.

"The craziness thing about this business is your relationship with others will most likely get you opportunities that you might not have known that you would get,” Gray said.