Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1491978
48 MARCH 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2023 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY TODD D. BURLAGE Be it board games, playing cards, cooking challenges, academics and/or athletics, Christian Gray enjoys nothing more than beating his older sister Láel in any or all of them, and vice versa. Separated by two academic grades, Láel — a sophomore at Ohio State — received 17 academic scholarship offers during her "recruitment" a few years ago. And it's a scholarship mark that Christian's mother Shonda Gray said her son was well aware of. "Christian was determined to beat out Láel with his football scholarship offers," recalled Shonda, with a hearty laugh. "So once Christian reached 18 offers, he immediately reminded me, 'I beat her, Mom.' He kept bringing it up." This sibling rivalry carried on from the backyard, to the classroom and even into the kitchen. Láel shared a story of how during one Christmas break a few years ago, she and her brother conjured a holiday bake-off that included both a ginger- bread house and a gingerbread man. As far as the house results? Láel con- cedes defeat, joking that Christian's entry stayed sturdy and upright — with frosting and decorations all in place. Láel's house? Well, it wasn't as good. "OK, so he won that one," she said. "He was really happy about that, and I sure had to hear about it." As for the gingerbread man, Láel ex- plained that the eyeballs from Chris- tian's entry fell off, and that his man ended up looking more like a manhole. "So, I won that one," Láel recalled, laughing hysterically. "It was so funny. Even Christian thought it was funny." Raising a young man of diverse in- terests, Shonda explained how her son stayed involved in everything — robot- ics, baseball, basketball, Christian rap music and baking, of course — while growing up. "I wouldn't say he's an expert baker. He's not ready for a cooking challenge or anything like that," Shonda joked, while admitting that Christian has perfected his chocolate chip cookie recipe. "But he enjoys doing it, and it's fun." For Láel, she's studying animal sci- ences in Columbus, planning to some- day work as an equine veterinarian. More recently, Christian arrived at Notre Dame in January as an early enrolled freshman from football powerhouse St. Louis De Smet Jesuit High School. FOOTBALL MATTERS Gray, a prep All-American and rated as one of the best cornerbacks in the country, had offers from about every elite program in the country, includ- ing Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee, Ohio State, USC and LSU. Gray made official visits to the latter three. A well-rounded young man, Chris- tian based his college choice criteria on family, faith and academics, before athletics. "God told me that Notre Dame is where he wanted me to be and where I need to go," Christian told Blue & Gold Illustrated upon his verbal commitment on July 4, 2022. "Our family lives by a standard in whatever we're doing. And Notre Dame provided the best opportu- nity to hold that standard high." Gray, who was listed as the nation's No. 11 cornerback and No. 89 overall player in the country by On3, arrived at Notre Dame as the third-highest-ranked Irish cornerback recruit since 2006: Houston Griffith (No. 71 in 2018 per the On3 Con- sensus) and Gary Gray (no relation, No. 44 in 2007 per the On3 Consensus). And while Gray's mother and sis- ter are the extroverts of the family, De Smet Jesuit head coach John Merritt ex- plained that Christian handles his busi- ness with more introspection. "Christian is more reserved. He lets the women in his life do the talking," Merritt affectionately said. "But the more com- petitive the moments, the more you're going to hear from Christian. He thrives on big games, big energy, and big noise. That's what gets him going." When asked if Gray's quiet demeanor might make for a tough transition to the noisy college game, Merritt said, "Nope." Because his former player has already lived it. Expect Gray's time at De Smet Jesuit — a powerhouse program that's already produced countless Division I players and dozens of NFL Draft picks — to have this talented newcomer well equipped for the college transition, Merritt said. Gray didn't crack the Spartans' start- ing lineup until his junior year in 2021 because of the Division I talent stacked in front of him. Putting Family, Faith And Spatula First, Christian Gray Begins His Life's Next Chapter Gray, On3's No. 11 cornerback and No. 89 overall player in the country, is the third-highest-ranked cor- nerback landed by Notre Dame since 2006, behind only Houston Griffith (No. 71 in 2018) and Gary Gray (No. 44 in 2007). PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER