Christian Gray is coming off yet another solid season patrolling the Notre Dame defensive backfield, but when he sees the field this fall, it will likely be at a new position. Granted, Gray isn't moving from DB to linebacker or even to safety. However, instead of manning up on one side of the line or the other, head coach Marcus Freeman thinks he'll be a natural Nickel Back.
Freeman mentioned Gray shifting to Nickel earlier this spring, even going so far as crediting the player for the idea. On Saturday, the media got to see how Gray is handling his new position in a full "Jersey Scrimmage." His head coach thinks the analysts should agree he's doing very well.
Christian Gray is a 'natural' at Nickel for Notre Dame
"He's done a really good job," the Notre Dame head coach said after the scrimmage. "You know, we thought he would be a natural nickel. We thought this would be a good move for him."
"He's really worked at it. Anytime you're trying to improve, you're going to go through some of the failures that he went through early in spring. And I mean, he'll continue to go through failures, but those make you better."
"He's really done a good job at it. We know he can play man coverage, right, but now you're doing it from a press situation. He's doing a good job in the zone, he's tough. He's definitely been improving this entire spring."
Notre Dame defensive backfield continues to be manned by talented veterans
Gray has long been one of the best defensive backs on the Irish. However, he's seen his ups and downs, including giving up what ended up being a game-clinching long pass completion in the National Championship Game a few years back. He's bounced back from every one of his struggles.
Last year, he missed two games with injuries, and his tackles were way down, but that could be because opposing offenses didn't like throwing at him. Despite just 17 tackles, he had a career-high 10 passes defended. He also logged two interceptions.
This fall, Christian Gray will man a new role for a Notre Dame defense expected to be one of the best in the sport. As of Saturday's Jersey Scrimmage, so far, so good.
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