Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 18, 2023 7 UNDER THE DOME Humble but confident, Irish freshman cornerback Christian Gray admits feeling blessed when his number was called for extended reps against Pitt Oct. 28, and feeling assured as he latched on his helmet while taking the field. Notre Dame sophomore cornerback Benjamin Morrison wasn't dressed for the game with a quad injury, and graduate stu- dent cornerback Cam Hart left the game in the second quarter with an upper-body injury, leaving Gray as the next man in. Gray, a St. Louis native, had played spar- ingly in seven games and made 3 tackles before Pitt. But he had never been asked to play starter reps before and he re- sponded with 2 tackles and his first career interception against the Panthers. A deeply spiritual young man who's fiercely dedicated to his mother, Shonda, and his older sister, Láel, Gray came to Notre Dame as a four-star recruit out of football power De Smet Jesuit High School, the No. 4 player out of Missouri, the No. 11 cornerback, and the No. 112 overall player in the country per the On3 Industry Ranking. Blue & Gold Illustrated recently caught up with Gray and asked him about his performance against Pitt, his first career interception, and his time so far at Notre Dame. BGI: What was your reaction after your first career interception? Gray: "It was just amazing. I was just ready to cry on the sideline. My granny was here. I was thanking God so many times because I have been praying for that moment for the longest time." BGI: How exciting was it to get a chance to play extended reps? Gray: "It was exciting but I had to treat it like it was just another game. I had to treat it like I started. I have played this game for a long time. There is nothing to be nervous about." BGI: And what was your mindset when your number was called? Gray: "Just locked in, I wasn't scared at all because I knew I be- longed here. That's what [corner- backs coach Mike Mickens] told me. He told me he recruited me to play here. If he trusts me, I'm going to go ball out." BGI: You could've played anywhere in the country out of high school, why Notre Dame? Gray: "I heard like every fan from all over saying, 'Come here, come here.' It was all the hype. And, I didn't want to have that in my life. I want to be humble, have God with me, keep him first, go to church every day. Be- ing here reminds me of my church and keeps me closer to God." BGI: You take great pride in your competitive relationship with your older sister. How does that work from a distance? Gray: "We're still competitive even if we are still five hours away from each other. And she always reminds me that 'Christian, you're always going to be competing in the world, never forget that.' We're very close." — Todd D. Burlage Five Questions With … FRESHMAN CORNERBACK CHRISTIAN GRAY Senior Safety Xavier Watts Is The Clear Choice By Todd D. Burlage Talk about back-to-back games for the ages. As if recording 7 tackles, 2 interceptions and one late scoop-and-score touchdown in a 48-20 win over USC Oct. 14 wasn't enough, it turns out Xavier Watts was only getting started. One bye week and one game later, the Irish senior safety added 3 tackles, 1 for loss and 2 more interceptions in a 58-7 win over Pitt Oct. 28. Watts' performance against USC earned him national defensive player of the week honors from various me- dia outlets. And he built a strong case to reap those rewards again against Pitt when he became the first Notre Dame defender to record 2 interceptions in back- to-back games since at least 1996. The back-to-back bold performances brought some missing attention to the terrific season he was some- what quietly having. The secret is out now after Watts earned plenty of national notice and headlines with his consecutive performances against USC and Pitt. In addition to leading the nation with 6 interceptions through games as of Oct. 28, Watts was fourth on the Irish with 39 tackles and second on the squad with 4 passes broken ups. A converted wide receiver, Watts has made his position change look easy, transforming himself into one of the best safeties in the country, a legitimate NFL Draft prospect and clearly the defensive MVP of this year's Fighting Irish. Howard Cross III Makes The Front Four Work By Jack Soble Not to minimize Watts' contributions — the senior safety was beyond ter- rific against the Trojans — but does Notre Dame beat USC without them? You could probably argue, "No," but the rest of the team played well enough to the point where you could also argue, "Yes." Without the play of graduate student defensive tackle Howard Cross III, Notre Dame 100 percent would have lost to Duke. His game-sealing strip sack was merely the icing on the cake. His first forced fumble was, if any- thing, more important. Cross reached out and knocked the ball out of Duke junior quarterback Rylie Leonard's hands as Leonard tried to scramble up the middle, and if he didn't do that, the Blue Devils' signal-caller almost certainly would have scored. Instead, Duke missed a field goal on the next play. Cross finished that game with 13 tackles and 5 quarterback hurries, too. He was ev- erywhere. Without him, Notre Dame would have undoubtedly been 6-3 enter- ing the Clemson game and in no position to make a New Year's Six bowl game. Beyond the Duke game, Cross led the Irish with 22 pressures and ranked second with 47 tackles through nine games. He rarely comes off the field and almost always stays out there on passing downs. He is the engine that makes the Irish defensive front go, and without him, Notre Dame doesn't have anything close to an elite threat to get to the quarterback. Without Cross, Notre Dame would be lost along its defensive line. Point ✦ Counterpoint: WHO IS NOTRE DAME'S DEFENSIVE MVP THIS SEASON? Gray played a season-high 42 snaps and recorded his first career inter- ception against Pitt Oct. 28. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER Watts Cross