Throughout the offseason 2023 receiver Grant Gray has consistently mentioned a few things that would be important in his recruitment. He knows he wants to play both football and baseball at the next level plus he has been looking for a school with plenty of academic prestige that was close enough to home for his family to watch him play.
Reading between the lines there is one school on his list that seems to line up with everything he is looking for in a college.
UCLA checked the boxes for Gray and Sunday night he pulled the trigger on a commitment to the Bruins becoming the first member of the program’s 2023 class.
The UCLA staff offered Gray back in late January, and since that time the Bruins have continued to gain momentum as a likely landing spot for the 6-foot-3 recruit from Norco High School.
Arizona made a strong push with Gray while schools such as Colorado, Cal, Utah, Boise State, UNLV and San Diego State all were part of the picture with offers as well. Oregon recently started to become more involved with the three-star recruit, too.
“I already know what I want to major in, either sports science or physical science,” he said earlier in the process. “So one of those two things. ... I always wanna be able to see family and stay close enough to where it’s not too far of a drive.”
Gray has continued to improve this offseason with several impressive performances throughout the camp and 7-on-7 season. He has managed to do that while continuing to focus on playing baseball this spring as well.
He has continued to develop his speed during his junior year adding to his overall skill set as a talented pass catcher. His emphasis has been on becoming more of a deep threat.
“I think my hands are pretty good, my quickness is pretty good, but I’m trying to get my speed up so they don’t have to worry about me staying to the short routes,” Gray said this spring. “They can always get beat over the top, so that’s something I have been working on.”
Gray, who plays in the center field for his high school team, previously said that Utah, San Diego State, UNLV and Fresno State were among the schools in addition to UCLA that have given him an opportunity to be a multi-sport athlete in college.
The new commit mentioned previously that UCLA is one of his dream colleges. Oregon, Oklahoma and USC are a few of the other schools Gray had once dreamed of attending.
As the process moved along UCLA become one of the schools showing him the most attention in the process led by receivers coach Jerry Neuheisel.
“We always get on the phone every single week and try to talk,” Gray said.
Gray had a stellar junior season at Norco High School as he finished the year with 61 catches for 956 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns. He averaged just under 87 yards receiving per game in 2021. He is currently hitting .378 on the baseball diamond with 31 runs, 10 RBIs and eight extra base hits.
