’24 LB was his defensive unit’s ‘Top Dragon’
Yzir Gray is an example of a very good football player hiding on a roster of a team which escapes many people’s notice. Gray is the team leader in tackles, tackles for loss, and QB-sacks. Gray also has forced a fumble and recovered one, giving him quite a few numbers to stuff on his high school stat-sheet. This guy is worth a look.
HB Lyon, Scouting Director, KPGFootball
Warren Central lost a nail biter to Class 2A, Todd County Central, 29-26 last Friday and have a big one tonight in Henderson, KY
Bowling Green, KY: There is no better time than the present to anoint another Independence Bank Player of the Week. Independence Bank is proud to sponsor a weekly article highlighting players in the areas where Independence Bank flourishes who embody the same type of revolutionary service to their respective football teams which has made Independence Bank unique and special in the banking industry.
Independence Bank has a goal of achieving everyday excellence, and this week we are focusing on a player whose performance exceeded expectations through the regular season and who will be vitally important to the Dragon’s playoff success as we continue to travel down 2023’s path towards the championships. Today, we are focusing on Class of 2024, LB, from Warren Central High School, Yzir Gray.
Gray’s Warren Central High is located just down the road from today’s featured branch, the one located on “Williamsburg Square,” 877 Fairview Avenue; Bowling Green, KY. Get on by that branch today and discover what makes our people, products, and services revolutionary in the Kentucky financial industry.
Gray is a kid who opponents find it difficult to match from a perspective of strength, power, and explosion
We have before discussed the fact there are good players on every roster across Kentucky. The players on teams which struggle find it difficult to garner much notice which impacts, detrimentally, that prospect’s ability to get recruited.
That aside, schools should still spend time combing the rosters of teams which struggle. A good example of this is a college in Kentucky with which I am somewhat familiar plucking an OG from off a roster of a team which perpetually struggled. This team offered this prospect and brought him to campus in spite of his high school team’s woes.
The kid was a starter as a sophomore. He represented his college team on the all conference, first team; and, as a junior, is considered among the elite interior offensive linemen at his level of play in the nation. Imagine that!
Yzir Gray is a small-college prospect. He is, nevertheless, a prospect all the same.
Yzir Gray is a small college prospect in football
Friday Night Fletch
Gray biggest impediment to “big time” college football is his height and lack of length. Gray is 5’9,” and weighs 185-pounds. Gray bench presses 265-pounds, squats 405, and power cleans 205.
These are legitimate, second level, defender numbers for a senior in high school. Gray is also a good athlete, turning in a 4.9-second, 40-yard dash time.
Perhaps most important is his 3.0 GPA. Most schools don’t relish having to sweat getting a kid past the college admissions committee. Plus kids who can’t maintain eligibility are of no use to anyone, least of all their college teammates.
Warren Central is coming off a tough year (1-9, 0-3). Last Friday night, the Dragons dropped a game by three measly points to Class 2A’s Todd County Central.
Both programs have been a stepping stone toward greatness for the other
Friday Night Fletch
Still, the path going forward could be much worse than it has turned out to be. There won’t be many 1-9 squads getting to play a 4-6 team in the first round this or any year.
That speaks to how down both the first and second districts in 6A were this year. Of course, in spite of its 4-6 overall mark (and 3-0 district record), Henderson figures to be heavily favored to advance to a second round game. We have run the numbers and Henderson is favored tonight by some 43-points.
None of this takes away from how well Gray has played in ’23. Gray has registered 51-tackles, 12-TFLs, three (3) QB-sacks, 1-FF, and 1FR.
Before you scoff at those 3-sacks, the entire team registered 10-sacks for the regular season. How many players do you know who registered 30% of his team’s total number of sacks and close to 26% of the entire squad’s tackles for loss?
Gray is a ’24 kid and there should be some schools checking him out to determine if he might be that “diamond in the rough” for whom college recruiters are persistently searching. Looking through his followers on “X,” it looks like some junior colleges and some Division 3 schools are checking in on him regularly and look to have him on the recruiting board.
A big playoff run would sure help Gray’s cause. The Dragons can get that started for him in Henderson, Kentucky tonight.
Calpreps.com prediction concerning tonight's game: Henderson County with a greater than 99% chance of winning over Warren Central with a predicted margin of 43-points
Congratulations to Yzir Gray for his Revolutionary Play over the course of the regular season which has earned him this week’s recognition from the fastest growing bank in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, your friends at Independence Bank.
This is Friday Night Fletch, reporting for Kentucky Prep Gridiron and reminding you that WE’RE JUST CALLING IT LIKE WE SEE IT!
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