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MIAMI GARDENS, FL – To get a true gauge of Cedric Gray’s value to North Carolina’s football team, it’s wise to look beyond the stats.
Of course, the stats reflect quite well on the junior linebacker from Charlotte. He leads the ACC in tackles with 68, has graded out at 69.1 for the season, according to PFF, and leads the Tar Heels with 24 STOPs, which are plays that result in failures by the opposing offense.
Gray is also an emotional and cerebral leader of the Tar Heels, roles he continues learning to fine tune. He prides himself on being more than just an athlete on the field, and the 2022 campaign has been about rounding all of those things into form.
Cedric Gray wants to be the everything-guy for North Carolina, and that is exactly what has taken place midway through the season.
“Cedric’s our most valuable player on defense right now,” UNC Coach Mack Brown said following a win at Miami on Saturday, a game in which Gray made one of the biggest plays of the season inside the final 25 seconds of the contest.
“He’s the leader.”
It was what might one day be recognized as vintage Gray.
With 35 seconds remaining and Miami at its own 43-yard-line, Hurricanes quarterback Tyler Van Dyke took the shotgun snap, was flushed from the pocket by Jahvaree Ritzie, rolled to his right and tossed a short pass to Jaleel Skinner, who caught the ball at the UNC 47.
Immediately, Gray hit Skinner, wrapped him up throwing him to the ground just inside the sideline with 28 seconds left. Gray kept him in bounds, though the Miami players initially thought Skinner got out of bounds.
Upon realizing the clock was still moving, the Canes rushed to the ball, were completely disorganized, Van Dyke took the snap with 15 seconds remaining, and his pass was intercepted by DeAndre Boykins sealing the game for the Tar Heels.
Gray’s play set up the frantic last snap for the Canes. They were discombobulated on that play. Boykins said it appeared to him the receivers "didn't know which routes they were running." Gray helped create that chaos.
Brown recognized the enormity of Gray’s effort.
“Ced keeping him inbounds was such a heady play that was bigger than even the interception at the end of the game,” he said.
Gray said that’s just him playing the game in a manner that appeals to his meticulous nature, and respect for doing whatever it takes to get a win.
“I just go out there and play hard every snap,” he said. “I pride myself on being an intelligent football player, having some football awareness. So that just kind of speaks to the tackle I made on the sideline trying to keep the guy inbounds.
“I knew they were trying to do it the whole game, they were doing it before halftime. So just having that awareness to keep him in bounds and keep that clock running was what I was thinking.”
It wasn’t the only huge play Gray made Saturday.
Early in the fourth quarter, when it appeared the Hurricanes were about to complete a drive that started on their own 17-yard-line, Gray forced Miami running back Jaylan Knighton to fumble at the UNC 20. Carolina safety Gio Biggers fell on the ball at the 17, giving the Heels possession.
It was the first of two crucial turnovers forced by the Tar Heels in the final period, each of which had Gray’s finger prints all over them.
“You play hard, sometimes good things happen,” Gray said. “That’s kind of what happened on that play. I was able to knock the ball out, and a teammate was there to recover it.”
It was more than playing hard, though. It was Gray doing next-level stuff. Playing hard comes first, but it was more than that causing the turnover.
“I wouldn’t say it was intentional, but I will say he had the ball in his (right) hand, and when I was tackling, I definitely came in with a little kind of a punch,” Gray explained. “It’s fourth-and-one, so you’ve gotta meet force with force, it just happened I got my hand on the ball and it popped out.”
Gray meets force, speed, quickness, and smarts with opponents each week. It is becoming a trait in which Carolina fans should come to know and appreciate. Brown calls Gray “a special player,” and six games into his second season as a starter, it appears he is indeed just that.
