Kai Gray

American gridiron football player (born 1997)

Kai Gray
Career information
No. 29 Edmonton Elks
Gray with the Elks in 2023
Born:	(1997-08-15) August 15, 1997 (age 26) Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Status	Active
CFL status	American
Position(s)	DB
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	215 lb (98 kg)
College	Lincoln (PA) Sam Houston State Rutgers
High school	St. Peter's Prep (Jersey City, NJ)^[1]
Career history
As player
2023–present	Edmonton Elks

Career highlights and awards
Jackie Parker Trophy (2023)
Career stats
Playing stats at CFL.ca

Kai Gray (born August 15, 1997) is an American professional gridiron football defensive back for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

College career

Gray first played college football for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights from 2016 to 2017.^[1]^[2] He played in 20 games, with four starts, where he had 73 tackles and three interceptions.^[1] Gray did not play in 2018 after being involved in a credit card fraud scheme, although the charges were eventually expunged from his record.^[3]

Gray then transferred to Sam Houston State University in 2019 to play for the Bearkats where he played in 11 games and had 31 tackles, one interception, and one forced fumble.^[4] He transferred again to Tabor College, but did not play in a football game there. In 2022, he transferred to Lincoln University and played for the Lions where he played in eight games and had 82 tackles, four forced fumbles, and seven pass deflections.^[5]

Professional career

On January 9, 2023, it was announced that Gray had signed with the Edmonton Elks.^[6] He earned a starting position at cornerback following training camp and played in his first professional game on June 11, 2023, against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.^[2] In his debut, he recorded four defensive tackles and also had his first career interception as he picked off a pass thrown by Trevor Harris in the eventual loss to the Roughriders.^[2] Gray continued to establish himself as a starter and recorded a career-high eight defensive tackles in the Labour Day Classic against the Calgary Stampeders.^[2] On September 22, 2023, he intercepted a pass thrown by BC Lions quarterback Vernon Adams and returned the ball 56 yards to score the first touchdown of his professional career.^[2]^[7]

Gray finished the 2023 season having played in all 18 games where he recorded 54 defensive tackles, two special teams tackles, two interceptions, and one touchdown.^[2] At season's end, he was named the West Division nominee for the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award.^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Kai Gray". Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Kai Gray". Edmonton Elks. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
^ "Lincoln University star and NFL hopeful Kai Gray is trying to move past his own Google history". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 25, 2022.
^ "Kai Gray". Sam Houston State Bearkats. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
^ "Edmonton Elks signs former Lincoln University defensive back Kai Gray". bgmsportstrax.com. January 10, 2023.
^ "Transactions | Elks sign all-star DB Purifoy". Edmonton Elks. January 9, 2023.
^ "Edmonton Elks vs BC Lions". Canadian Football League. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
^ "Oliveira and Kelly headline CFL award nominees". Canadian Football League. November 1, 2023.