Thirteen yards. That’s it, just 13 yards is all Oklahoma running back Eric Gray needs Saturday to surpass the number of rushing yards he had for the Sooners in 2021.
You can make a safe bet on that happening.
Gray is just one of several Sooners that you can tell are having fun playing football again, even though last Saturday obviously wasn’t their finest moment.
He arrived as a transfer from Tennessee and so much was expected from him last season. It just didn’t pan out. Whether it was Gray trying to adjust to OU or the described dysfunction among the locker room last season, it was less than ideal.
Gray vowed in the spring this season would be different. It’s very hard to argue with those results in the first four games.
“I think everything I really thought about EG is what I’m beginning to see,” quarterback Dillon Gabriel said. “It’s something I’ve always expected of him just because of how talented he is. When you’ve got a talented guy that can do it all, it makes it a lot of fun. He can do a lot of creative things.”
Gray has rushed for 400 yards on 53 attempts, averaging 7.5 yards per carry. He ranks No. 21 overall in the country with 400 yards and No. 14 with his 7.5-yard average.
Included in that has been three 100-yard games, coming off a season where he didn’t have any. If OU fans were wondering what the big deal was about Gray after last year, well, that doesn’t seem be an issue now.
“He always handled himself like a pro,” said running backs coach DeMarco Murray in August. “Class, meetings, ups, downs, you know what you’re going to get from him. Team guy. He’s put on some more weight. Work ethic – didn’t think it could get better, but it has.
“I can’t praise EG enough. Family has done a great job raising him. When you think about a guy who has done what he’s done in the past, he’s the total package. I have to constantly find ways to challenge him.”
Gray accepted a massive challenge last Saturday in the loss to Kansas State. After being stymied throughout the first half, Gray came alive in the second half.
There aren’t a lot of players who ever want to review the film, but Gray? His performance was impressive in rushing for 114 yards on 16 carries and adding seven receptions for 45 yards.
Head coach Brent Venables said it best after the game.
“I loved everything I saw from him,” Venables said.
Throughout the spring and the summer, Venables and offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby mentioned how the running back room was led by Gray.
That didn’t appear to resonate, based off his 2021 production and the fact it’s just his second year in the program.
But he’s not the new kid on the block anymore, and he has accepted being the leader of what is turning into a pretty stout running back group.
“Most definitely,” Gray said. “I think last year had some things to do mentally with my game that I overcame this year that has allowed me to play as well as I have.”
There was a funny moment in OU’s win at Nebraska as Gray was scoring his second touchdown of the game. The press box public address announcer was already announcing Gray into the end zone when he hadn’t even reached it yet.
Gray had made one of those patented cuts in open space, and everybody in the stadium knew he was scoring the touchdown.
“Eric Gray, man, that is an absolute animal right there,” center Andrew Raym said. “When he gets the ball in space and makes the cut, he'll make anybody miss. It's been awesome watching Eric play.”
It’s what he’s known for, and it’s not by accident. It’s something he has been working on since childhood, recognizing little tendencies in defenders and how to use that to his advantage.
“I think winning those battles is something I was born with,” Gray said. “My dad getting me cutting on cones when I was younger. Being able to just simulate in practice, seeing someone in the hole and practicing knowing my moves, watching film, it slows the game down where you know the defender.”
Maybe it took longer than Gray thought or OU hoped, but it’s all coming together. This is the real Eric Gray, and he’s ready to keep putting on a show.
