Sophomore cornerback Christian Gray has been a contributor to the Irish since he stepped on campus. Coming in as a sought after four star recruit from St. Louis, MO — the highest-ranked Irish cornerback recruit since 2015 at the time — he had expectations to fulfill.
Gray saw 12 games in his freshman campaign, contributing to the defensive effort with 11 tackles, nine of them solo. He had an interception against Pitt and one pass breakup against Oregon State at the Sun Bowl. In this year’s regular season, he has started in all games aside from Louisville with 26 total tackles. He’s had to step up and take over for injured All-American Ben Morrison, with little to no loss of performance.
Gray had seven tackles against USC, six of those solo and one assisted. He also put up one tackle for a loss of three yards and had two pass break ups. Most impressive of all was his 99-yard quarter four pick six that helped solidify an Irish victory. But, it wasn’t smooth sailing for Gray the whole game.
The normally solid Gray had an up and down game. He started as the defensive star on the first series of the game with a pass break up and two tackles for loss. So much so that CBS commentator Brad Nessler even quipped “Nothing Gray about the play of this guy, that’s black and white, that’s form tackling, that’s a stop” after a fourth down tackle.
However, USC’s quarterback Jayden Maiava started picking on Gray in the second quarter. He was targeted on USC’s two touchdown drives, enabled by his two pass interference penalties. In a game where the Trojans gave the Irish their best shot, defensive players like Gray and Leonard Moore were truly tested. However, he hung on and would later redeem himself with critical plays.
After quarters of back and forth play, Gray came onto the scene at the end of quarter three looking for redemption from his past plays with a pass breakup.
Later on, Gray would deliver a stunning, one handed 99-yard pick-six that extended Notre Dame's lead to 42-28 with under four minutes remaining. The secret to Gray’s turnaround? He cites the ability to reload.
“What Coach Freeman always said, just reload, reload, reload,” Gray said postgame. “What he said to me really stuck to me and I just kept it in my head, like reload, reload, I gotta get back to this.”
Gray’s pick six came at a crucial time, and allowed the Irish fans to breathe again after dreams of a playoff game appeared to be fading in a game that had been back and forth all day. When asked about if he knew he was going to make a big play the huddle before the drive, Gray knew he had it in him.
“Yeah, definitely,” Gray said. “In my head I said no more holding back, I just got to break through the chains. It's like, that's what I said in my head. And I just just screamed it out. Because the best thing to do is just kind of scream it out, and then just go ball.”
Shortly after, graduate student safety Xavier Watts followed suit with a pick-six of his own, this one from the end zone for 100 yards. Gray was seen taking a knee on the field after Watts’ touchdown, something he did to take in the moment of him and his fellow defensemen.
“I’m just happy to see my boy get a pick,” Gray said with a smile. “Like X, knowing him, that’s my brother and everything. So I’m glad he got the pick-six and everything. I just took a knee just to reel it all in, knowing we just executed and balled out.”
Gray cited Marcus Freeman as an inspiration to him throughout his time with the Irish.
“Just from Coach Freeman, he’s just a great inspiration,” Gray said. “I talk to him almost every day, like, he’s just a great inspiration as a man. He gives us talks about family and everything. Just during this whole entire season, just learning from him has been amazing. And it’s just like, Just trailing in his footsteps, making the good decisions and knowing what’s the bad decisions and having team glory.”
Gray’s play this season, especially against USC, embodies the relentless determination that has defined him and this Irish team all year. From rebounding after the heartbreaking loss to NIU to overcoming season-ending injuries and battling through rough patches in the secondary, both Gray and the team have shown an unshakable determination. Together, they’ve “broken the chains” and positioned themselves exactly where they envisioned in the preseason — a home game in the College Football Playoff.
