TCU receiver Deanté Gray serves as reminder of highs and lows

After a year away from the game, Deanté Gray promised to take nothing for granted in his final season of college football.

The TCU receiver spent months recovering from knee surgery. And it wasn’t that long ago that he was part of a 4-8 team, the 2013 squad that had the only losing season at TCU in the past 11 seasons.

“We actually had a lot of great players on that team. There were a lot of close games. But we didn’t finish,” he said.

Those experiences are part of what makes the fifth-year senior from Houston Westside a resource for this year’s team.

Gray, speaking to reporters Tuesday as the Frogs began preparing for the season opener against South Dakota State, said he accepted that role. He uses 2013 as an example for himself and others.

“Just going through that experience, when practice gets harder, somebody’s down, reminding them, I’ve been through the worst of the worst,” he said. “I’ve been through the highs. It gives me credibility to talk about it with the younger players.”

Of that, there are many. Taj Williams and Emanuel Porter are first-time starters. Isaiah Graham is a freshman. Jaelan Austin and Jarrison Stewart are coming off strong freshman years, but now they take on elevated roles on a unit that lost the best receiver in school history, Josh Doctson.

As does Gray. Co-offensive coordinator Doug Meacham said Gray will also be used on the outside. The 5-foot-10, 183-pound slot receiver does not have outside wideout height, but the Frogs are eager to see what the former track standout can do on the boundary.

“When he gets the ball in his hands, that boy has speed,” running back Kyle Hicks said. “Speed, man. Speed kills. He’s deadly with the ball in his hands.”

If Gray can play other receiving positions, it could mean the coaches can get him and KaVontae Turpin on the field at the same time.

So Gray is more than willing to try.

“It’s definitely harder, but you kind of learn the ins and outs of inside receiver and outside receiver,” Gray said. “And I think playing inside receiver helped me on the outside, too, because inside, you have to understand coverage a little better. Whatever Coach Cumbie and Coach Meacham need me to do, they know I’m willing to do it. They know I’m always open to do anything to help our team win.”

But first, Gray has to play a game on the knee that he hurt two springs ago. He said he tried coming back in time to play last year, but it was not ready until late in the season. By then, he was on the way to a medical redshirt that cost him a chance to build on a 2014 season when his eight touchdown receptions were second-most on the team.

“With knee injuries, you have to be 100 percent sure when you’re coming back,” he said. “The trainers, they do a great job of pushing me and making sure my knee is at perfect strength. I just listened to them and did everything they asked me to, which is what got me back to where I am, which is 100 percent.”

He’s sure of that. So sure, he he savored every moment of fall camp. He took it all in.

He assumed nothing.

“It really felt good just to be back practicing,” he said. “People take that for granted, but when you’re out for so long, you even appreciate the practices. So it felt good.”

This story was originally published August 31, 2016 at 11:08 AM with the headline "TCU receiver Deanté Gray serves as reminder of highs and lows."