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Q&A: Illinois Safety Andrew Gray: "It would be awesome to get an offer from Minnesota
Illinois Safety Andrew Gray: "It would be awesome to get an offer from Minnesota."
By Chris Monter
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/274953?referrer_id=388419
Andrew Gray, a 6-foot-2, 180 pound safety from Lincoln Way West, is considered one of the top defensive backs in the state of Illinois. Gopher Hole caught up with Gray to learn the latest on his recruitment.
Gopher Hole: What is the latest on your college recruitment right now?
Andrew Gray: The latest right now is that things have kind of calmed down. I have two offers from the University of South Dakota and Colgate University in New York.
Gopher Hole: Did you get a chance to go to many camps this summer?
Andrew Gray: I went to the U of I satellite camp at Lincoln Way West on June 1st.
Gopher Hole: What schools are you hearing from besides the two that have offered you?
Andrew Gray: I am hearing from Western Illinois, Illinois State, North Dakota and the University of Minnesota.
Gopher Hole: What are you hearing from Minnesota?
Andrew Gray: They have been sending me general mail. Coach Phelps came out during the offseason in May or June and they have been sending me mail about the program.
Gopher Hole: Have you thought about going to visit some colleges before your high school season starts?
Andrew Gray: I have been talking to a bunch of coaches about coming up to a bunch of games. I am going to try to get to as many games as I can this year. I want to try to go up to Minnesota-Northwestern. I also want to try to go to North Dakota-South Dakota game.
Gopher Hole: You play with your twin brother Alex. Have you talked about playing college football together or would that be a factor in what schools you looked at compared to what he looks at?
Andrew Gray: The two schools that have offered me so far have both been heavy on him, too, but they haven't offered him anything yet. We do want to play together, but if we can't, then I guess it is OK. We are both going to do what is best for us. If we have to separated, I am sure that he would be OK with that and I would be OK with it, too.
Gopher Hole: Minnesota has several sets of brothers on their rosters. Has any of the schools mentioned having brothers on their team as a way of recruiting you?
Andrew Gray: No. No one has really mentioned that. The only thing that we have heard about that ia Northwestern. My coach told me that Coach Fitzgerald likes to have brothers on his team, but no one has really come out and said it.
Gopher Hole: What is going to be the main thing that is going to make you pick School A over School B or School C?
Andrew Gray: I would say the level of education, first off. Education is really important to me. To get a degree and secondly, I would probably say location and third, it would be the football program, itself.
Gopher Hole: Do you know much about Minnesota at all?
Andrew Gray: They have been sending me all this stuff, so I have been reading everything that they have sent. I know that it is a good program and I know the education is really high. It is a really high level education for the Big Ten.
Gopher Hole: Have you ever been to Minnesota?
Andrew Gray: No, I have never been up there.
Gopher Hole: What do you see as your strengths as a player?
Andrew Gray: My strengths as a football player would be my overall football IQ. A lot of things come natural. I am not super big. I am kind of undersized right now at safety, but I have a lot of natural instincts. Good reads and good eyes.
Gopher Hole: Do you think the fact that you don't have that "ideal size" as a safety is the main reason you don't have more offers than you do right now?
Andrew Gray: It could be that. I am not going to try blame it on that, but it could be one of the main factors. I am a little on the skinnier side. I only weight about 180 now going into my senior year. I am hoping to put on some weight this year.
Gopher Hole: What things are you working on to continue to improve yourself as a football player?
Andrew Gray: I have been watching a lot of film lately. I like to know as much about our opponent as I can, so I watch two or three hours of film every couple of days and then I try to learn as much about their offense and get the mental aspect of the game down. I am working on a lot of foot work and agility.
Gopher Hole: What is it like to play with your twin brother?
Andrew Gray: It is definitely interesting, being that we are both safeties. It is actually really fun. There is nothing else like it. The trust that we have with each other is really different. I know that I can do something because I know that he has my back. I can jump a short route because I know that he is covering my back, so the trust level is just really high between us when we play together.
Gopher Hole: Would it be weird to not play with him if you decided to go to different colleges because obviously you are very close?
Andrew Gray: We are really close, but I am sure that wouldn't be as big of a problem as I think it would. I really don't think that it would be that big of a problem. I played one year without him when we were younger and it wasn't bad. We can still play out without each other. It is just that it would be hard not seeing him all the time.
Gopher Hole: What would it mean to get an offer from Minnesota or a Big Ten school?
Andrew Gray: If I got an offer from Minnesota, I would probably be pretty close to committing then, because all the stuff that they have been sending me. I know that the Big Ten is the best that you can get for education and football tradition, so it would mean a lot. When we were little kids, we always thought that we wanted to play college football, but we never thought that it was really going to happen. It is not too realistic. Every kid wants to do it, but now that I have picked up a couple of offers, you get a little more confidence. It would mean a lot. It would be awesome to get an offer from Minnesota.
Gopher Hole: Your mother told me that you and your brother got a chance earlier today to watch the Chicago Bears practice at their training camp. What was that experience like?
Andrew Gray: It was really good, because we actually got to watch how the pros do it. What drills they run. How they act on the field, like the effort level.
Gopher Hole: Your mom mentioned that you got to have lunch with Desmond Clark. How did that come about?
Andrew Gray: It was really cool. I saw him at the camp. He was walking around with some kids. I saw him at the camp and someone said his name and I thought "Wow, that is Desmond Clark." We saw him at Wendy's and we started talking to him and had a picture with him and he saw our shirts and brought up our school and knew our school, so that was actually cool, knowing that 12 -year player in the NFL knew about our school that is only five years old.
Gopher Hole: What are the expectations for your high school team this upcoming year?
Andrew Gray: We were just predicted to be in the title game 12-0. It is really early for prediction, but there has been a lot of hype going about our team, but I think that we can make a serious run at a state title.
Gopher Hole: What was your record last year?
Andrew Gray: We were 6-3 in the regular season and we made it to the quarterfinals and lost to Joliet Catholic in overtime.
Gopher Hole: Is that a motivating factor having gotten that close last year to get even farther this season?
Andrew Gray: That is definitely the biggest motivation factor for our whole team this year. Having come that close to winning the game was heartbreaking. It has been hard to get over and I don't think that I'll ever forget that, so we have been working hard to make sure that doesn't happen again.
Illinois Safety Andrew Gray: "It would be awesome to get an offer from Minnesota."
By Chris Monter
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/274953?referrer_id=388419
Andrew Gray, a 6-foot-2, 180 pound safety from Lincoln Way West, is considered one of the top defensive backs in the state of Illinois. Gopher Hole caught up with Gray to learn the latest on his recruitment.
Gopher Hole: What is the latest on your college recruitment right now?
Andrew Gray: The latest right now is that things have kind of calmed down. I have two offers from the University of South Dakota and Colgate University in New York.
Gopher Hole: Did you get a chance to go to many camps this summer?
Andrew Gray: I went to the U of I satellite camp at Lincoln Way West on June 1st.
Gopher Hole: What schools are you hearing from besides the two that have offered you?
Andrew Gray: I am hearing from Western Illinois, Illinois State, North Dakota and the University of Minnesota.
Gopher Hole: What are you hearing from Minnesota?
Andrew Gray: They have been sending me general mail. Coach Phelps came out during the offseason in May or June and they have been sending me mail about the program.
Gopher Hole: Have you thought about going to visit some colleges before your high school season starts?
Andrew Gray: I have been talking to a bunch of coaches about coming up to a bunch of games. I am going to try to get to as many games as I can this year. I want to try to go up to Minnesota-Northwestern. I also want to try to go to North Dakota-South Dakota game.
Gopher Hole: You play with your twin brother Alex. Have you talked about playing college football together or would that be a factor in what schools you looked at compared to what he looks at?
Andrew Gray: The two schools that have offered me so far have both been heavy on him, too, but they haven't offered him anything yet. We do want to play together, but if we can't, then I guess it is OK. We are both going to do what is best for us. If we have to separated, I am sure that he would be OK with that and I would be OK with it, too.
Gopher Hole: Minnesota has several sets of brothers on their rosters. Has any of the schools mentioned having brothers on their team as a way of recruiting you?
Andrew Gray: No. No one has really mentioned that. The only thing that we have heard about that ia Northwestern. My coach told me that Coach Fitzgerald likes to have brothers on his team, but no one has really come out and said it.
Gopher Hole: What is going to be the main thing that is going to make you pick School A over School B or School C?
Andrew Gray: I would say the level of education, first off. Education is really important to me. To get a degree and secondly, I would probably say location and third, it would be the football program, itself.
Gopher Hole: Do you know much about Minnesota at all?
Andrew Gray: They have been sending me all this stuff, so I have been reading everything that they have sent. I know that it is a good program and I know the education is really high. It is a really high level education for the Big Ten.
Gopher Hole: Have you ever been to Minnesota?
Andrew Gray: No, I have never been up there.
Gopher Hole: What do you see as your strengths as a player?
Andrew Gray: My strengths as a football player would be my overall football IQ. A lot of things come natural. I am not super big. I am kind of undersized right now at safety, but I have a lot of natural instincts. Good reads and good eyes.
Gopher Hole: Do you think the fact that you don't have that "ideal size" as a safety is the main reason you don't have more offers than you do right now?
Andrew Gray: It could be that. I am not going to try blame it on that, but it could be one of the main factors. I am a little on the skinnier side. I only weight about 180 now going into my senior year. I am hoping to put on some weight this year.
Gopher Hole: What things are you working on to continue to improve yourself as a football player?
Andrew Gray: I have been watching a lot of film lately. I like to know as much about our opponent as I can, so I watch two or three hours of film every couple of days and then I try to learn as much about their offense and get the mental aspect of the game down. I am working on a lot of foot work and agility.
Gopher Hole: What is it like to play with your twin brother?
Andrew Gray: It is definitely interesting, being that we are both safeties. It is actually really fun. There is nothing else like it. The trust that we have with each other is really different. I know that I can do something because I know that he has my back. I can jump a short route because I know that he is covering my back, so the trust level is just really high between us when we play together.
Gopher Hole: Would it be weird to not play with him if you decided to go to different colleges because obviously you are very close?
Andrew Gray: We are really close, but I am sure that wouldn't be as big of a problem as I think it would. I really don't think that it would be that big of a problem. I played one year without him when we were younger and it wasn't bad. We can still play out without each other. It is just that it would be hard not seeing him all the time.
Gopher Hole: What would it mean to get an offer from Minnesota or a Big Ten school?
Andrew Gray: If I got an offer from Minnesota, I would probably be pretty close to committing then, because all the stuff that they have been sending me. I know that the Big Ten is the best that you can get for education and football tradition, so it would mean a lot. When we were little kids, we always thought that we wanted to play college football, but we never thought that it was really going to happen. It is not too realistic. Every kid wants to do it, but now that I have picked up a couple of offers, you get a little more confidence. It would mean a lot. It would be awesome to get an offer from Minnesota.
Gopher Hole: Your mother told me that you and your brother got a chance earlier today to watch the Chicago Bears practice at their training camp. What was that experience like?
Andrew Gray: It was really good, because we actually got to watch how the pros do it. What drills they run. How they act on the field, like the effort level.
Gopher Hole: Your mom mentioned that you got to have lunch with Desmond Clark. How did that come about?
Andrew Gray: It was really cool. I saw him at the camp. He was walking around with some kids. I saw him at the camp and someone said his name and I thought "Wow, that is Desmond Clark." We saw him at Wendy's and we started talking to him and had a picture with him and he saw our shirts and brought up our school and knew our school, so that was actually cool, knowing that 12 -year player in the NFL knew about our school that is only five years old.
Gopher Hole: What are the expectations for your high school team this upcoming year?
Andrew Gray: We were just predicted to be in the title game 12-0. It is really early for prediction, but there has been a lot of hype going about our team, but I think that we can make a serious run at a state title.
Gopher Hole: What was your record last year?
Andrew Gray: We were 6-3 in the regular season and we made it to the quarterfinals and lost to Joliet Catholic in overtime.
Gopher Hole: Is that a motivating factor having gotten that close last year to get even farther this season?
Andrew Gray: That is definitely the biggest motivation factor for our whole team this year. Having come that close to winning the game was heartbreaking. It has been hard to get over and I don't think that I'll ever forget that, so we have been working hard to make sure that doesn't happen again.