Torrian Gray (born March 18, 1974) 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 wi ...

coach and former player who is currently the defensive backs coach at the University of South Carolina. Also known by the nickname “Big Play Torrian Gray”.

College career

Gray was three times an all-

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

selection for the Virginia Tech Hokies. His college teams won two Big East championships and in 1995, upset the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...

in the 1995 Sugar Bowl.

Professional career

Following his playing career at Tech, Gray was drafted by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

49th overall in the second round of the

1997 NFL Draft The 1997 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 19–20, 1997, at the Paramount T ...

. He played two seasons with the

backing up

Orlando Thomas Orlando Thomas (October 21, 1972 – November 9, 2014) was an American football defensive back who played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 until 2001. He played his entire career with the Minnesota Vikings. Biography Thomas stood ...

at free safety. He started five games as a rookie, including two playoff contests. He contributed as a starter in the nickel package and as a special teams player before retiring in the spring of 2000 due to a knee injury. The Vikings advanced to the playoffs in each of his three seasons.

Coaching career

Gray returned to Virginia Tech to coach defensive backs following the departure of Lorenzo Ward to the Oakland Raiders. Gray coached several players who played in the NFL including:

Aaron Rouse Aaron Roosevelt Rouse (born January 8, 1984) is a former American football safety who last played for the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He ...

Brandon Flowers Brandon Richard Flowers (born June 21, 1981) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and philanthropist, best known as the lead singer, keyboardist, and occasional bassist of the Las Vegas-based rock band the Killers. In addition to his ...

, Macho Harris, Kam Chancellor, Roc Carmichael,

Jayron Hosley Jayron Todd Hosley (born September 18, 1990) is a former American football cornerback who played for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Virginia Tech. High school career He attended Atlantic ...

, Kyle Fuller, Antone Exum, Kyshoen Jarrett, Kendall Fuller,

Chuck Clark Charles Edward Clark Jr. (born April 19, 1995) is an American football strong safety for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Virginia Tech. Clark was drafted by the Ravens in the sixth round ...

Terrell Edmunds FeDerius Terrell Edmunds (born January 20, 1997) is an American football Safety (gridiron football position), safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Virginia Tech Hokies football, ...

, Greg Stroman, and

Brandon Facyson Brandon Lamar Facyson ( ; born September 8, 1994) is an American football cornerback for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Virginia Tech. Professional career Los Angeles Chargers Facys ...

. On February 4, 2017, Gray was named Defensive Backs coach of the NFL's Washington Redskins. On January 21, 2019, Gray chose to join the University of Florida football team as the Defensive Backs coach.

References

External links

* 1974 births Living people Chicago Bears coaches Florida Gators football coaches Maine Black Bears football coaches Minnesota Vikings players South Carolina Gamecocks football coaches UConn Huskies football coaches Virginia Tech Hokies football players Virginia Tech Hokies football coaches Washington Redskins coaches Players of American football from Lakeland, Florida Coaches of American football from Florida {{2000s-collegefootball-coach-stub