Vols transfer RB Eric Gray commits to OU over Texas football

There was a sliver of time there were newly hired head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Texas football program were heavily going after the former Tennessee Volunteers sophomore 5-foot-10 and 205 pound running back Eric Gray. Following the departure of the now former Tennessee head coach (and former Alabama Crimson Tide defensive coordinator) Jeremy Pruitt, Gray was in the transfer portal for good.

And the likes of the former Alabama offensive coordinator and the reigning Broyles Award winner Sark wasn’t able to lure him to the Forty Acres over the likes of the rival Oklahoma Sooners. On the night of Jan. 27, Gray took to his Twitter timeline to announce that he would be taking his talents to join the Sooners over the likes of the Longhorns a few other programs pursuing him out of the transfer portal.

Joining head coach Lincoln Riley and the Sooners is a popular move for former Vols coming out of the transfer portal this offseason. Former elite Tennessee recruits like ex-five-star OL Wanya Morris and cornerback Key Lawrence both transferred from Knoxville to take their talents to Norman this offseason, now along with Gray.

Just like the Longhorns have gone through so far this offseason, the portal is a very busy place for Riley and the Sooners. Oklahoma is using the Tennessee program as a source of talent to restock up on any depth that they’ve lost on both sides of the ball.

Gray passes up on Texas football for OU

What the Sooners are getting out of Gray is a running back that was pretty productive and efficient for the Vols last fall. In nine games played for the Vols during the 2020 season, Gray registered 772 rushing yards (4.9 yards per carry), 254 receiving yards (8.5 yards per catch), and two touchdown catches.

During his two years playing for Tennessee to start out his college career, Gray registered 1,311 rushing yards (5.1 yards per carry), eight rushing touchdowns, 369 receiving yards (8.6 yards per catch), and three touchdown catches.

Oklahoma is also getting a pretty highly touted running back recruit that was an integral part of the 2019 Vols recruiting class. Coming out of Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis, TN, Gray was a highly coveted blue chip recruit.

He ranked as the nation’s No. 184 2019 high school prospect, No. 3 all-purpose running back, and No. 5 prospect out of Tennessee (247Sports Composite). And the Top247 ranked him as the nation’s No. 99 high school prospect, No. 2 all-purpose running back, and No. 2 prospect out of Tennessee.

Under the direction of Pruitt, the Vols finished up the 2020 season with a record of 3-7 (3-7 SEC). Meanwhile, both Oklahoma and Texas came away with wins in their respective bowl games last month. Texas in particular finished up with a record of 7-3 (5-3 Big 12) under the direction of the now former fourth-year head coach Tom Herman.