Three-down value at the linebacker spot has evolved into a priceless commodity in today’s game. For 2023 First-Team All-ACC selection and North Carolina linebacker Cedric Gray, it’s the standard. Moreover, it’s the way of life within the guts of a defense.
Countering weapons in space has become as important as working through gaps in the run for defenses across football. In college or the NFL, the ability to deploy second-level defenders that have the physicality to bring down ball-carriers in space, only to flip and run to carry a tight end up the seam, are must-haves in the modern game.
For Gray, while the spotlight has increasingly brightened over the years, North Carolina was his lone Power Five offer out of high school. While it was always a dream to play for his state school (native of Charlotte, N.C.), limited Power Five interest placed a large chip on his shoulder as he entered college.
“I’ve always played with that [chip] on my shoulder,” Gray said. “Coming out of high school, I was a very underrated guy. That really carries into my game. The physical play and the type of passion that I bring, always having to prove myself… I always had to work harder than the next guy to get to where I want to go.”
That next step is competing on NFL-branded turf for Gray, who’s been one of the nation’s top tacklers over the last few seasons. While bringing down ball-carriers in space alone can be attributed to effort and knack for finding the football for many, his ability to make plays in the fringe areas of an offense, including behind the line of scrimmage, makes him unique.
“I pride myself on being an athletic linebacker,” Gray said. “The game has evolved, we [LBs] have to guard tight ends, slot receivers, running backs. I played a little bit of wide receiver in high school as well and it’s helped me a lot as far as my ball skills and understanding what receivers might do in certain routes.”
While only a few defenses in football deploy multiple linebackers in their base personnel, Gray has the skill set to both wear the green dot and provide an uber-athletic chess piece to counter the modern offenses of today’s game on long down and distances.
Looking to become just the third Tar Heel linebacker since 2012 to hear his name called in the top 100 selections (Zach Brown in 2012 and Chazz Surratt in 2021), teams in need of three-down value and a player that hunts for contact will prioritize Gray’s game in the months to come.
