'08 MI RB Jonas Gray (Signed LOI to ND)

[rtrn2glory]

feel bad for jonas...charlie screwed us playing him as a freshman. imagine having cierre and jonas coming back next year. best 1-2 combination in the country.

 

[yankeehater]

feel bad for jonas...charlie screwed us playing him as a freshman. imagine having cierre and jonas coming back next year. best 1-2 combination in the country.

How did Charlie screw them by playing Jonas? Jonas screwed Jonas! Players play and coaches coach. Jonas was one of the top RB recruits coming out of high school so of course Weis wanted to get him on the field. He decided to give Jonas as a hometown boy a chance against SCum and Jonas fumbled on his first touch. If Jonas would have performed, you think Charlie would have only given him 21 touches and then end up getting himself fired.

 

[tadman95]

Awful break. I think the hit was a little cheap. Coming in at an angle low like that? You know there's a higher risk to those kind of hits.

 

[rtrn2glory]

he was not ready to play as a freshman...he had armando, robert hughes, and aldridge...he didn't need to play and should not have been playing

 

[irishfan]

How did Charlie screw them by playing Jonas? Jonas screwed Jonas! Players play and coaches coach. Jonas was one of the top RB recruits coming out of high school so of course Weis wanted to get him on the field. He decided to give Jonas as a hometown boy a chance against SCum and Jonas fumbled on his first touch. If Jonas would have performed, you think Charlie would have only given him 21 touches and then end up getting himself fired.

Jonas did not play his frosh year against Michigan, that was his sophomore year. He got 21 carries behind Allen, Hughes, and Aldridge. CW didn't "screw" Jonas, but he should have been redshirted.

 

[yankeehater]

he was not ready to play as a freshman...he had armando, robert hughes, and aldridge...he didn't need to play and should not have been playing

Yes, he had those three and you can say that they all did not live up to the hype (especially Aldridge) so he was giving Jonas a shot to take over the reigns.

 

[irishfan]

Yes, he had those three and you can say that they all did not live up to the hype (especially Aldridge) so he was giving Jonas a shot to take over the reigns.

Giving him a shot? His first carry wasn't until the Washington game which was the 7th game of the year.

 

[yankeehater]

Giving him a shot? His first carry wasn't until the Washington game which was the 7th game of the year.

Then why not question every time a coach plays a kid on special teams. Is it necessary? Does that give them a shot?

Kids are recruited to play. "Redshirting" is usually a luxury for winning teams these days. Times have changed. I played college sports in the 80's when almost everyone redshirted to help with maturity, get acclimated to college life, etc. Nowadays kids expect to play right away as are coaches expected to win.

 

[irishfan]

Then why not question every time a coach plays a kid on special teams. Is it necessary? Does that give them a shot?

Kids are recruited to play. "Redshirting" is usually a luxury for winning teams these days. Times have changed. I played college sports in the 80's when almost everyone redshirted to help with maturity, get acclimated to college life, etc. Nowadays kids expect to play right away as are coaches expected to win.

There's nothing wrong with playing a kid if its going to help the team win now, or if he's expected to be a big contributor the following year. However, playing Gray didn't make sense at the time and looking back on it it still made no sense. He was the 4th string RB and all three others were coming back in 2009 as well. Just my opinion, so we'll have to agree to disagree.

 

[rtrn2glory]

should not have been playing as a freshman, you are right though that was sophomore year, so the real waste was playing him so late as a freshman...should have been red shirted and we should have him for one more year and this injury wouldn't hurt as bad for us.

 

[yankeehater]

There's nothing wrong with playing a kid if its going to help the team win now, or if he's expected to be a big contributor the following year. However, playing Gray didn't make sense at the time and looking back on it it still made no sense. He was the 4th string RB and all three others were coming back in 2009 as well. Just my opinion, so we'll have to agree to disagree.

The thing that sucks is Jonas may have missed next season as well based on the average recovery time of an ACL (if that in fact is the accurate injury). Only gotta hope he gets his shot at the next level.

 

[rtrn2glory]

The thing that sucks is Jonas may have missed next season as well based on the average recovery time of an ACL (if that in fact is the accurate injury). Only gotta hope he gets his shot at the next level.

if it's simply an acl...he could get back in 6 months if he had to, recovery time has seemed to go down over the years, but you're right it's gonna hurt his chance of getting a shot at the next level or atleast getting ready physically to get a shot. we're really gonna miss him these last two games.

 

[yankeehater]

should not have been playing as a freshman, you are right though that was sophomore year, so the real waste was playing him so late as a freshman...should have been red shirted and we should have him for one more year and this injury wouldn't hurt as bad for us.

My bad! I thought that fumble in the "Big House" was his FR year, but that was second year and I think everyone had such high hopes for him. I just remember the let down when he was relegated back to the bench.

 

[rtrn2glory]

My bad! I thought that fumble in the "Big House" was his FR year, but that was second year and I think everyone had such high hopes for him. I just remember the let down when he was relegated back to the bench.

no prob...i thought it was his freshman year too, had to do a lil back tracking...can't be mad at a fellow yankee hater

 

[irishtrinity]

Gray has what it takes to bounce back

Gray has what it takes to bounce back

I know we have a thread about the injury.. This one is for showing love and highlights..

This was the yr. of Jonas Gray he helped the Irish more than he knows..
RB of the yr...
Gray has what it takes to bounce back - Notre Dame Football Blog - ESPN
#25 Jonas Gray: Notre Dame 79 yard TD run v PITT - 9/24/2011 - YouTube

 

[GoldenIsThyFame]

Torn ACL confrimed by BK. Rehab is 6 months.


Sucks.

 

[TerryTate]

Post from the Gray family on II:

As a family we wanted to thank everyone for their continued support! We're so honored to be a part of the Irish family and with your prayers and well wishes were totally confident that Jonas will make a full recovery and resume his football career in the near future. We consider ourselves to be a praying and faithful family and we strongly believe that God's will is already done!

Jonas feels so blessed to be a part of the Notre Dame program and he's wants to assure all the fans, supporters, teammates, coaches, instructors, and classmates that he will never forget the love, and support that has been bestowed upon him for the last 4 years. While we know that Jonas injury is both disappointing and untimely, we understand that injuries are a brutal reality of the game and those possibilities are accepted and understood as a player and a family.

Although things looks bleak now, Jonas as most of you know has dealt with adversity in the past. In knowing that, we're confident that this injury is just a another setback that he'll have to overcome to fulfill his dreams and future aspirations. To be totally honest, Jonas has been very encouraging to us, and his refusal to feel sorry for himself has been very inspiring and uplifting.

Again we appreciate all the good times as well as the tough during his career at ND. We're hopeful that Jonas has touched a few lives for the better along the way, and that his Notre Dame legacy will be one that is remembered for being a leader, refusing to doubt himself and his teammates, and finally by helping the younger players understand that with hard work, accountability and perseverance that anything and everything is possible! As a freshman Jonas stepped onto campus wide eyed and eager, but as a senior he walks away with a world class degree, thousands of friends and well wishers, newfound wisdom, a few touchdowns and more importantly the distinct honor of being called a "Notre Dame Man."

Go Irish! God Bless!

Sincerely, Jerri, Earnest, Cory, Derek and Jonas.

 

[PANDFAN]

Post from the Gray family on II:

very classy!!!

 

[Domina Nostra]

That's what it's all about.

 

[Buster Bluth]

Incredible stuff. Makes me proud to be a Notre Dame fan!

 

[BeauBenken]

Post from the Gray family on II:

Awesome. Just awesome.

I hope the Gray family has a wonderful Thanksgiving, and of course, I hope that Jonas goes on to be successful in all his future endeavors. He has been invaluable this year with possibly the locker room having been the area which he affected the most.

I wish Jonas a speedy and full recovery.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Very inspiring.

In other news, the human knee is poorly designed, God. I don't understand why a good robotic joint replacement or knee brace still hasn't been invented yet.

 

[Rhode Irish]

Having people like that the program is why it's easy to be proud to be an Irish fan.

God speed, Jonas.

 

[yankeehater]

Thank you to Jonas and the Gray Family. We really enjoyed watching his progression at ND and look forward to watching him once again on Sundays.

 

[SaltyND24]

Literally got chills while reading that letter...Jonas was always a good guy. Always greeted me with a "what's up" and a smile on campus. I wish him and his family all the best. Words and moments like these make me proud and honored to be a part of the Notre Dame Family.

 

[frankygoes69]

Does anyone have information on how he is doing? We all wish him the best of luck and say that he did a great job this year.

Go Irish!

 

[clashmore_mike]

Surgery was successful and he tweeted about rehabbing with some pro athletes. Seems to still be in good spirits.

 

[D-BOE34]

Never seen a man so happy about a DR!

 

[frankygoes69]

Good for him and what a great year rushing.

 

[Te'o4Heisman]

Confirmed he has been invited to NFL combine per BGINews on Twitter. Very happy for this young man. Hope he lights it up.