Oklahoma got a transfer commitment from Tennessee running back Eric Gray on Wednesday after Gray led the volunteers in the race with 772 yards and four touchdowns in 157 attempts during nine games as a second year in the 2020 season. Gray is the third transfer from Tennessee to join the Sooners program this offseason, following former five-star striker Wanya Morris and former four-star quarterback Key Lawrence, who also chose Oklahoma after joining the transfer portal during a tumultuous offseason in Knoxville.
With 2020 Oklahoma rusher leader Rhamondre Stevenson going into the NFL Draft, Gray should have an immediate opportunity to compete for shipments – should NCAA legislation pass soon, allowing players to be transferred once without leaving out of a season. Gray also proved to be a quality pass catcher, ending the 2020 season with 30 receptions for 254 yards and two other touchdowns
Losing Gray is a blow to the talent level of Josh Heupel’s first team in Tennessee. The former UCF coach, introduced on Wednesday as the new program leader, will now have to replace the team’s two best drivers from 2020, after runner Ty Chandler was moved to North Carolina earlier this week. season.
Heupel said during his introductory press conference that he will not recruit UCF players to come to Tennessee, saying, “I don’t think this is the right thing to do.” But Heupel will likely need to pick up a few transfers to replenish the volunteer roster amid a wave of layoffs following Jeremy Pruitt’s resignation as coach.
There is also irony in the fact that three major players left the Volunteers and went to Oklahoma. Heupel was runner-up in the Heisman Trophy for the Sooners in 2000 and spent nine seasons with the Oklahoma team before being replaced as an offensive coordinator by Lincoln Riley, who is now Oklahoma’s head coach.