UNC defender Cedric Gray makes the most of his opportunities from Charlotte to Chapel Hill
When North Carolina sophomore linebacker Cedric Gray chased down Miami receiver Keyshawn Smith for a touchdown-saving tackle at the UNC 5, Ardrey Kell High School coach Greg Jachym was the least surprised of anyone who saw the play. He’d seen it well before the Tar Heels’ 45-42 win on Oct. 16.
Jachym, Gray’s high school coach, watched him do it in the state playoffs. A running back broke free with Gray on the opposite side of the field. Gray took off in pursuit, making the tackle just as time expired in the half to save a touchdown.
It was frankly, the kind of play that embodied the Charlotte native as a player.
“He came off the field, his nose was bleeding and he was out of breath,” Jachym said. “But he’s always been that kind of player who never gives up. He’s such a competitor. He hates to lose. So he’s always got to do whatever it takes to try to win.”
Gray’s development into a starter at inside linebacker has been one of the pleasant surprises for the Tar Heels this season. In the five games Gray has been in the starting lineup, he’s led the Heels with 33 tackles.
The ACC named Gray the Player of the Week last week after his two interceptions — including the game-saving pick with six seconds left — preserved Carolina’s win over Miami.
“One of the things I kind of harped on last year was to prepare just like the starter and train myself for when the time comes to be successful,” Gray said. “So, it really wasn’t much different from last year to this year and from the spring to now. I always just wanted to prepare, I always wanted to learn more, I always wanted to understand more what we’re doing on the defensive side of the ball.”
Gray began the season as a backup to Eugene Asante, whose performance taking over for Chazz Surratt in the Orange Bowl put him in line to permanently take over the starting role. Gray, as co-defensive coordinator Jay Batemen put it, just kept making plays. He was a little better than Asante in pass coverage and by the third game of the season against Virginia, had made his first start.
“It came as no surprise to me what Ced has been able to do so far this season,” senior linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel said. “He prepares himself like he’s been a starter for three to four years in the program.”
Gray knows all about making the most of his opportunities.
He also played receiver and was used at safety at Ardrey Kell, and while he did garner plenty of interest from places like Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina and Marshall, it didn’t translate into a lot of offers. Carolina was his only scholarship offer from a Power-5 school.
He was not quite tall enough or fast enough for some of the schools who looked at him as a receiver. He wasn’t quite strong enough for others who viewed him as a linebacker.
Carolina saw the intangibles he possessed. He’s added about 20 more pounds to his frame and is a bit of a different mold from the rest of its inside linebackers. Gray said UNC co-defensive coordinator an inside linebackers coach Tommy Thigpen was, “the only Power-5 coach who believed in me.”
“He’s long, I mean he’s 6-foot-2, 225 pounds and is cerebral as they come,” Thigpen said. “That’s the kind of linebackers creed here, we like to look at ourselves as tough and smart.”
Gray fits both categories. Thigpen said if the Heels made a list of their toughest players, Gray would be in the top five. And he’s smart enough that Thigpen enlisted him to learn both inside linebacker positions, which most players in their system are never asked to do.
Gray got a lot of help from Gemmel in getting acclimated to both positions. He’s quick to call Gemmel his mentor even though they are peers. During the summer, Gemmel would on occasion stop whatever video games they were playing to turn on the projector and watch game clips.
Gemmel helped Gray learn to the point where he could act on instinct. Gemmel said those conversations made him believe Gray would have a breakout season.
“I think me and Ced just grew close to one another because he was just always asking questions,” Gemmel said. “He was always wanting to find out what that next level was about a formation or checked calls.”
The Miami game proved that. Bateman said the variety of plays Gray was able to make spoke to his improving abilities.
“Look at what we asked Cedric Gray to do against Miami,” Bateman said. “He’s playing man on a slot receiver, next play he’s defending the A-gap. Not that many kids have that wide a skill set. So yeah, I think he’s going to just continue to be a good player for a long time, hopefully.”
This story was originally published October 29, 2021 at 5:30 AM with the headline "UNC defender Cedric Gray makes the most of his opportunities from Charlotte to Chapel Hill."