RICHMOND, Va. — If you watch any St. Christopher's football game or practice your eyes almost immediately focus on Darius Gray.
Gray demands your attention first with his appearance and then with his ability.
It's been that way since he first walked through the Saints' doors as an 8th grader
"The first thing you notice about Darius when you meet him and he's 13 years old was how big he was," St. Christopher's head football coach Lance Clelland said.
Now a 6'4", 280-pound junior lineman, Gray towers over many of his teammates and opponents.
He has always understood that his genetics are a gift.
"God gave me a blessing and he can take it away before you know it," Gray said. "I think that was the biggest thing. Just staying humble, giving thanks to God, and just keep doing the best I can do."
But that humility has been tested almost ever since.
Gray began posting his game and practice video on social media in the 8th grade.
That helped lead to his first college scholarship offer, four years before he could even accept it.
Before he entered high school he attended football camps at the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech.
"They called Coach Lance a few weeks later. I heard them and I was excited," Gray said.
Since then, Gray has heard from almost every major college program nationwide including Alabama, Georgia, Southern California, and LSU.
The website Rivals.com listed 38 different scholarship offers for Gray.
The schools continue to contact him and his coach regularly. Gray considers it a very good problem to have and enjoys hearing from everyone interested in his progress.
"Just building connections and relationships between coaches and their families and things like that. Outside of football, we're still people," Gray said.
"His [offers] were always legitimate. His were always the real thing," Clelland said. "That is the tricky part about the high school recruiting process right now. That is almost always not the case. But for him, it is the case."
But what if he didn't play college football?
Gray also plays for the Saints basketball team.
According to St. Christopher's basketball coach Hamill Jones, Gray could have a college future in that sport as well.
"One of the things that helps Darius from a football standpoint is the movement in basketball. The agility that's required. The lateral movement, moving in space, angles, and he is phenomenal at all of that," Jones said.
The Saints were the only area team to beat eventual state basketball champion John Marshall High School last season.
Gray had a significant if unlikely contribution to the win.
"We were losing 9-0 and needed a basket," Jones said. "He nailed a three and that gave everybody confidence that tonight could be our night."
"I can hit one every now and then," Gray said with a smile. "Not many... but I've hit some before."
But football is Gray's true passion and path.
It can be difficult to keep your feet grounded when everyone wants to lift you.
Gray remains humble and focused on his future because he's still not convinced he completely deserves the attention.
"I still don't think I'm that good. I'm still trying to find that," Gray said.
"Just talking to him, if you didn't know that he was getting the attention that he's getting, you would never know. It doesn't go to his head. He's the most down-to-earth guy," Jones said.
"He's very low-key about it. He's more about improving as an athlete, as a student, as a leader," Clelland said.
"My mom always said that she knew I was going to be a star one day," Gray said. "That's her favorite quote. She isn't too excited because she knew this would happen. She just wants me to stay humble."
Gray cannot sign any scholarship offer for another year and will take his time even in making any verbal commitment beforehand. He plans to study sports communications and broadcasting in college.
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