How to watch Cedric Gray, UNC football play at Pittsburgh in ACC opener
North Carolina coach Mack Brown was headed down the sideline last Saturday, in a hurry to make a point with his defense, only to find linebacker Cedric Gray had beaten him to it and already was making the point.
“Coach saw me and tapped me and said, ‘Good job,’” Gray said this week, smiling.
Brown has gotten used to saying that to Gray, the unequivocal leader of the UNC defense and possibly the ACC’s best linebacker. The senior has earned the respect of his coaches and his teammates with his work ethic, his play on the field and a willingness to help others.
“Whenever I say something, I feel like it kind of motivates them and kind of gets them going,” Gray said.
Gene Chizik, UNC’s defensive coordinator, calls Gray a “culture builder” and as close to a player/coach as the Tar Heels can have. Gray’s voice, his advice and guidance, is heeded and appreciated by those around him.
“What he brings to the locker room is amazing.” Chizik said. “He can coach players on the field. He can actually get on the other players like a coach and he is received like a coach by the other players.
“You talk about building a culture. Those are the kind of guys you need.”
As the No. 17 Tar Heels head to Pittsburgh for their ACC opener, the defense has done its part in UNC’s 3-0 start. It’s a deeper, more confident unit than the one that was pushed around at times last season.
Gray has a team-high 27 tackles and linebacker Power Echols 24. Linebackers coach Tommy Thigpen noted Gray was in for 90 plays in one game, saying it was “way too many,” but evidence of how important he is on the field.
“Some guys can talk the game to you but they can’t play it,” Thigpen said. “Some guys can play it but they can’t talk it. Ced is one of those combinations that can do both. Every day he comes out, his goal is to be the best football player he can be.”
Chizik recalled a one-on-one conversation he had with Gray after last season, after Gray’s decision to play at UNC another season. The man led all Power 5 schools in tackles in 2022. He likely would be on an NFL team this season. No one would have blamed him for turning pro.
Chizik’s question: “Why come back?”
Gray’s answer: “Unfinished business.”
“He could have gone out and he could have made a lot of money,” Chizik said. “He wants to graduate and he said he has unfinished business.”
One thing Brown really wanted this season was not only a lot better play on defense but better body language. There was too much head-hanging and slumped shoulders after poor plays last season – from the D and at times from the head coach, Brown has conceded.
Gray has taken it upon himself to be the one to speak up, keep things positive, keep his teammates focused.
Gray said during the ASU game cornerback Marcus Allen allowed a big pass completion — albeit a tough, one-handed grab — and appeared upset by it.
“I kind of noticed him down and told him to pick his head up, that he’d get it back,” Gray said. “Later, in the fourth quarter, it was an important drive and they had a third down and they threw an out route to their sideline and he was right there to break it up.
“I was like the first guy to meet him and said, ‘I told you that you were going to get it back, that you’d make it up.’ So I just try to lift guys up whenever I notice that.”
That’s something he said he learned from Jeremiah Gemmel, a former UNC linebacker.. “The General” – that’s what Gray said the guys called Gemmel, someone Gray looked up to when he was a young linebacker and clueless at times and needed help and motivation, he said.
Gray is now trying to be that guy for the Heels’ younger players – for an Amare Campbell or a Deuce Caldwell.
“That’s something I kind of take pride in,” Gray said. “I try to be the guy to answer their questions, get them motivated.”
As for Gray, personal motivation is not a problem, Chizik said.
“He brings it every single day,” Chizik said.
How to watch
The UNC-Pitt game will be shown on the ACC Network on Spectrum for those with cable. Satellite options include DirecTV and Dish Network or stream it on such services as DIRECTV Stream, fuboTB, Hulu + Live TV, SlingTV and YouTube TV.
North Carolina (3-0) at Pittsburgh (1-2)
When: Saturday, 8 p.m.
Where: Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh.
TV: ACC Network.
Odds: UNC is a 7.5-point favorite
