It took a while for the light bulb to go on, but when it did, Jonas Gray finally showed the talent many had expected from the blue-chip prospect from Detroit. One of the top prep running backs in the country, it took until Gray’s senior season to make an impact on the field, but from his game-breaking run against Pittsburgh until his season-ending knee injury on Senior Day, Gray became one of the most explosive running backs in the country, and briefly toyed with Irish immortality as he came up just short of chasing down one of George Gipp’s records.
Even after a major injury, Gray was invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, where he’ll have an opportunity to impress future employers while showing off the fine work Dr. James Andrews did on his injured ACL. As he trains and rehabs down in Florida, Gray also caught up with Blue & Gold’s Wes Morgan, who had an illuminated interview with one of the Irish’s bright spots in a season that saw too much go wrong.
Gray spent much of the interview explaining what goes into his workouts, a grueling six day a week routine that should get him back and healthy for Notre Dame’s pro day. But the really interesting stuff came courtesy of Gray’s candor when discussing his relationship with Brian Kelly, who replaced Charlie Weis halfway through Gray’s Irish career.
Here’s more from Gray, who shows a great deal of belief in a head coach that brought the best out in him.We’re behind Coach [Brian] Kelly 100 percent. He’s like the president; you may not agree with him all the time, but he’s our leader and you have to be behind him 100 percent. The time is now. Coach Kelly is going to right the ship. We don’t have all the talent in the world coming back next year, but we have a solid group. I know those guys are going to give it their all and Coach Kelly is going to make sure this thing is turned around.
Sometimes with fans, the patience level isn’t always where it should be. I know a lot of people were talking about this year being the year, but I think next year will be the year. It’s always a year you don’t expect for a team to show what it’s really about. Coach Kelly is the guy for the job.
There were times my junior year when he and I clashed and I wasn’t agreeing with what he was doing. But when you buy into it, it all works.
He is very misunderstood as a person and as a coach. People see the way he acts sometimes on the sidelines. That’s just his competitive, fiery spirit. He just wants to win so bad. The best way I like to describe him sometimes is just an average guy who will make some mistakes, but he’s a phenomenal leader. The atmosphere in the program is just so much better than I can remember.
Notre Dame needs a guy that’s not afraid to speak his mind and who is going to do all he can for the University.
The one thing about Coach Kelly that I don’t think he’s totally understood is the academic side of it. That part of it he’s still learning. Notre Dame is held to such higher marks as far as the athletes.
As far as his ability to coach and as a leader and the way he runs a program, there are guys from other schools that say they don’t even see their head coach actually coach. Coach Kelly is right there in the middle telling you what to do. He tells you the truth.
Gray’s intelligence shines through in this interview, and it’s nice to see him acknowledge the friction that existed early in their time together, something Kelly had spoken openly about as well. It’s also interesting that Gray mentioned the academic side of things. After seeing the learning curve that an alum like Charlie Weis had with admissions, it’s interesting that Kelly, who had coached at schools with limited scholastic restrictions before ND, has looked in-line with the school’s administration.
Great get by Morgan, who will be running a continued series with Gray leading up to the NFL Draft.