Quick Facts
Biography
Johnathan Gray (born April 22, 1993) is an American football running back. He played college football for the University of Texas at Austin. He attended Aledo High School in Aledo, Texas. Gray earned a 2011 USA Today High School All-American nomination, and was also named Gatorade National Player of the Year. After becoming the first junior to win ESPN HS's 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 over Arkansas, Auburn, TCU, and Texas A&M.
High school career
Gray attended Aledo High School in Aledo, Texas where he broke the all-time high school touchdown 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 on December 17 at Cowboys Stadium, 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. 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.
| Year | Attempts | Yards | Average | Touchdowns |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 140 | 969 | 6.9 | 15 |
| 2009 | 372 | 2,798 | 7.5 | 50 |
| 2010 | 351 | 3,223 | 9.2 | 59 |
| 2011 | 346 | 3,891 | 11.2 | 65 |
Track and field
Gray was also on the school's track & field 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 at the 4th Johnny Perkins Pirate Relays, with a career-best time of 10.58 seconds. He also competed in the 200 meters, placing fifth at the 2009 Elk Relays.
Recruiting
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | 40‡ | Commit date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnathan Gray RB | Aledo, Texas | Aledo HS | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 4.53 | Apr 22, 2011 |
Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 85 | ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 1 (RB) Rivals: 1 (RB) ESPN: 1 (RB) | ||||||
Sources: | ||||||
College career
College career statistics
| Year | GP–GS | Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Long | Rec | Rec–Yards | Avg | TD | Long | ||
| 2012 | 13-5 | 149 | 14 | 4.7 | 3 | 49 | 11 | 151 | 13.7 | 1 | 34 |
| 2013 | 9-8 | 159 | 780 | 4.9 | 4 | 45 | 15 | 61 | 4.1 | 0 | 10 |
| 2014 | 13–0 | 147 | 637 | 4.3 | 7 | 42 | 20 | 122 | 6.1 | 0 | 17 |
| Totals | 35-13 | 455 | 2118 | 4.7 | 14 | 49 | 46 | 334 | 7.3 | 1 | 34 |
Two achilles tendon tears put Gray's career on hold, but several NFL teams showed interest in him in 2016.