Clarksdale native J.T. Gray received an unusual birthday present recently. Just four days before he turned 26 on January 18, he was named to the All-Pro team of the National Football League.
Juantavius Tavon "J. T." Gray is a defensive safety and special teams savant for the New Orleans Saints. After leading the NFL in unassisted special teams tackles, he was named to the prestigious All-Pro team on Jan. 14. While many fans and players consider special teams to be an afterthought, Gray has made a meaningful impact in the game’s third phase for the Saints.
Gray is an alumnus of Clarksdale High School, where he played for Wildcats Head Coach Henry Johnson.
“He is a great athlete and a better young man,” Johnson said of his former player. “He is very hardworking and committed to the game. I enjoyed coaching him. He made my job very easy to do.”
Like Clarksdale’s Coach Johnson, Saints coach Sean Payton was grateful to have coached him.
“He’s elite,” Payton told the team’s website, NewOrleansSaints.com. “He's a captain also, that's how well our guys think of him. He's an elite special teams player.”
Payton, the head coach who brought Gray to the Saints and lavished praise on him ever since, has announced that he is stepping down as head coach of the team. For the coach who succeeds Payton, Gray will be a pillar of the team and a giant in the realm of special teams.
On return teams, Gray is known as an effective blocker. On coverage teams, he is a gunner, a player who lines up on outside and sprints down the field to pursue and stop the punt returner.
After a stellar career at Clarksdale High School, Gray played his college ball for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. He played an important role on a defense that included a number of future NFL players, including Jeffrey Simmons, Montez Sweat, and Willie Gay Jr. He was also teammates with a high school rival, Elgton Jenkins from Coahoma County and now of the Green Bay Packers. Led by that defense and future NFL star Dak Prescott, MSU was ranked number-one in college football during the 2015 season.
In 2019, Gray was named Second Team All-Pro, an esteemed honor. In 2021, he climbed to the next level, achieving First Team status and one of the most prestigious awards in the sport.
Gray totaled 19 special teams tackles, with a league-leading 16 of those tackles being unassisted. Since 2018, his rookie year, he has notched 39 solo special teams tackles.
