By Chuck Carlton The Dallas Morning News
The Cyrus Gray who enrolled at Texas A&M before the 2008 football season bears little resemblance to the player preparing for what could be a showcase season for him and the No. 8 Aggies.
“I don’t think I was a running back when I first arrived,” Gray said. “I was a running quarterback that was trying to play running back. My game has evolved. The understanding of the game has changed.”
More important, Gray said, his mind-set has changed dramatically. The senior from DeSoto sees the big picture now, as well as his place in it.
If there was one defining moment that has marked Gray’s career so far, it came when friend and fellow running back Christine Michael suffered a broken tibia midway through last season. Gray adopted the philosophy that he was running for two people and finished the season with seven straight 100-yard games.
In the process, he excelled against three defenses that finish the season ranked in the top 12 nationally: Nebraska, Texas and LSU. His 223 yards rushing against Texas were the most ever by an Aggie against the Longhorns. Once viewed as a change-of-pace back, Gray proved he could churn out tough yardage between the tackles on game-changing drives.
He finished the season with 1,133 yards rushing with an impressive 5.7 yards per carry and 12 touchdowns.
“The older you get, the more realize that you have a team, a family you have to play for out there,” Gray said. “You first play for a starting spot or to establish your identity. Now it’s bigger than that.”
Teammates confirmed Gray’s selfless approach.
“He’s not one of those guys that needs all the spotlight,” Michael said. “The things that he’s good at, he gives to us younger players. There’s going to be a time when he’s not here, and he tries to give us as much as possible.”
While Gray is a formidable talent, he’s just one part of the most loaded A&M offense since R.C. Slocum was on the Aggies’ sideline.
Michael, healthy and running hard, looks fully healed from an operation that left him with a rod in his leg.
For now, coach Mike Sherman isn’t concerned about Gray and Michael getting enough touches.
“I think in the context of the way we play the game now, where we’re getting between 85 and 95 snaps, there are going to be plenty of opportunities for those guys to have the football in their hands, whether catching it or being handed it,” Sherman said. “I think they both are a great one-two punch.”
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill seems ready to transform from a game manager to a playmaker in his first full season as a starter. The receiver corps, led by Jeff Fuller and Ryan Swope, is remarkably deep and accomplished.
On the offensive line, sophomore tackles Luke Joeckel and Jake Matthews survived and then thrived as freshman starters in a league with some impressive pass rushers.
But it’s impossible to ignore Gray given the way he finished last season.
Gray has added about 10 pounds and weighs 206. He said he’s just as quick, maybe even faster.
Bigger and faster?
“I believe it,” Swope said with conviction. “Heck, yeah. He wouldn’t lie.”
Actually, Gray might be the only one who believes he still has something to prove.
“I don’t even look at that,” Gray said of his strong finish to 2010. “I have to play better than I did last year if I want to be successful and if our team wants to be successful.
“I was pretty good, but I don’t think I have played my best football yet.”
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On a major roll
Breaking down Cyrus Gray’s streak of seven consecutive 100-yard rushing games:
Opp. Att. Yds TD Final
Kansas 13 117 1 W, 45-10
Texas Tech 16 102 2 W, 45-27
Oklahoma 21 122 1 W, 33-19
Baylor 28 137 4 W, 42-30
Nebraska 26 137 0 W, 9-6
Texas 27 223 2 W, 24-17
LSU 20 100 0 L, 41-24
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