Danny Gray (born April 1, 1999) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Blinn and SMU before being drafted by the 49ers in the third round of the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

Early life and high school

Gray grew up in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

and attended James Madison High School. As a junior, he had 34 receptions for 699 yards and 13 touchdowns and rushed for 159 yards and three touchdowns. Gray was rated a three-star recruit and committed to play college football at

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

over offers from

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

, Florida Atlantic, Grambling State,

Tulane Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

Stephen F. Austin Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization ...

North Texas North Texas (also commonly called North Central Texas) is a term used primarily by residents of Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas to describe much of the north central portion of the U.S. state of Texas. Residents of the Dallas–Fort Wo ...

and Incarnate Word. He was ruled academically ineligible to play at Missouri and did not enroll.

College career

Gray began his collegiate career at

Blinn College Blinn College is a public junior college in Brenham, Texas, with additional campuses in Bryan, Schulenburg, and Sealy. Brenham is Blinn's main campus, with dormitories and apartments. History Blinn was established as Mission Institute in 188 ...

in order to meet the academic requirements to play Division I football. As a freshman, he caught 15 passes for 409 yards and six touchdowns and was named first-team All-

Southwest Junior College Football Conference The Southwest Junior College Football Conference (SWJCFC) is a football conference for National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) teams located in the Southwestern United States. The conference has produced 5 of the last 15 NJCAA national ...

. Gray initially committed to transfer to TCU over offers from Auburn, Baylor, Texas Tech, and Tennessee for his final two seasons of eligibility during the summer before his sophomore season. He finished the season with 54 receptions for 877 yards and eight touchdowns. During the season, Gray flipped his commitment to SMU. Gray became an immediate starter for SMU caught 33 passes for 448 yards and four touchdowns. He was named first-team All-

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (The American or AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) ...

as a senior after finishing the season with 49 receptions for 803 yards and nine touchdowns. Following the conclusion of the regular season, Gray announced his decision forgo his final season of NCAA eligibility and enter the

2022 NFL draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

College statistics

Professional career

Gray was selected by the

in the third round (105th overall) of the

References

External links

San Francisco 49ers bio

SMU Mustangs bio

Blinn Buccaneers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Danny Living people American football wide receivers SMU Mustangs football players Players of American football from Dallas Blinn Buccaneers football players 1999 births San Francisco 49ers players