Cyrus Gray, the 5-foot-11, 190-pound four-star running back from DeSoto, Texas, has over 50 scholarship offers and says he still has not really started to narrow down his list yet.
"I don't have a top five," Gray said. "I won't start narrowing it down until the season starts. I want to see some games and see how these teams utilize their players and check out their depth charts. I'll probably narrow it down at that point."
Although Gray says he's keeping his options open, a few schools he said he prefers are Notre Dame, California, Florida, SMU, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State and Arizona. "I think I'd like to visit Notre Dame, Cal, Florida and Arizona," Gray said. "Those are the ones I'm thinking about taking officials to, but it's not set yet."
He says the Irish have been recruiting him the hardest. "They have great prestige and I like the coaches a lot," he said. "Coach Charlie Weis has done big things in the NFL and I have a lot of respect for him as a human and a coach. He talks about character first and says that's what makes someone a Notre Dame football player. I like the team they have. They all seem like great guys with good personalities."
Gray, ranked No. 15 in the Southwest by Scout.com and No. 85 nationally, says that distance won't be a factor and hopes to check out California in the fall. "I like Cal a lot," he said. "I've heard some great things about Berkeley and they have a great grad rate. The academics are really good and they are also a very competitive team that plays a tough schedule. They play great competition every year."
The school that he is the most familiar with is A&M. "I'm just really comfortable with them," Gray said. "I know all the players there and some of my old teammates go there. I also have a really good relationship with the coaches already. I'll definitely try to go check out some of their games this year. SMU too. They are really close, so that should be easy."
With scholarship offers from schools coast-to-coast, Gray has the luxury of taking his time to narrow things down. Another school that Gray is seriously thinking about taking an official visit to is Florida, which he says remind him of his high school squad.
"They play really aggressive and just have a will to win," he said. "They remind me of my team. The coaches are great and are very cool and down-to-earth. They really get along well with their players and seem to really care for them."
Besides the usual suspects that are perennial favorites to win, Gray says he thinks there might be a pair of dark horse candidates that could do some damage this season. "The two teams that will surprise people and upset some teams this year are Oklahoma State and A&M," Gray said. "They are both up-and-coming and I believe they've got a good chance to go far."
He reports a 3.2 core GPA and took his SAT, but says; "I don't know the score." Either way, he says he'll retake it in the fall.