Brent Venables shows Eric Gray's great season puts him in elite company

Rushing for 1,000 yards in any college football season is a major accomplishment, but the way Oklahoma‘s lead tailback has done it this year has been something else. First-year coach Brent Venables did his best this week to put Eric Gray‘s great season in context.

Gray ran for 211 yards and two touchdowns in a narrow loss at West Virginia over the weekend, all but attempting to single-handedly will Oklahoma to victory.

“Eric’s kind of a quiet leader but, man, his play is really loud,” Venables said. “He’s having a monster season. I think this is fastest to 1,100-plus yards since Adrian Peterson in 2004. We’ve had a bunch of great backs here, so that obviously says a lot.”

Gray has topped the 100-yard mark rushing in all but three games this season. He’s racked up 165 carries for 1,113 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Venables can rattle off the stats and where Gray stacks up statistically both in the conference and in the Big 12, but it’s all the other stuff Gray does beyond simply toting the rock that impresses Venables.

“I’m not sure what’s being talked about from a media standpoint with him, but he’s been outstanding in blitz pickup, as well,” Venables said. “He’s not a real big guy. I mean he’s muscled up, smaller in stature, but plays big in that way as well.”

Eric Gray’s great season showing off his versatility

Head coaches in their first season often rely on players who exemplify buy-in as an example for the rest of the program.

Venables hasn’t had to look for with Eric Gray’s great season providing a clear and obvious example. Despite Oklahoma’s so-so season at just 5-5 overall, he has showed up ready to work every day.

“He’s a perfectionist. He cares about his teammates,” Venables said. “He’s just a great teammate. I think the best reward you can have as a player is the respect of your teammates, and he has that. Really proud of him and the consistency he’s performed at. This is a game of performance and he has shown up each and every week.”

And, yeah, Gray is also pretty good at toting the rock.

“Sometimes he’s made something out of nothing, but he can make ’em miss on the second and the third level, make ’em miss at the first level for that matter, runs through trash, can get outside with speed and run with patience and tempo inside,” Venables said. “Just been outstanding catching the ball in space as well. It’s fun to see a guy like that that’s so unassuming and hard-working have success.”