Record-setting Texas RB averaging more than point per carry
There are few accolades which haven't already been used to describe the budding career of Aledo (Texas) High running back Jonathan Gray. The Texas commit -- who is ranked as the top running back in the Class of 2011 -- recently became the second-highest career scorer in national high school football history, and some of his highlight runs are already the stuff of near-Reggie Bush level legend.
Still, there's a stat that has gone unexplored that may demonstrate Gray's stunning dominance better than any other: In his career, the running back is currently scoring more than a point-per-carry.
Yes, you read that correctly: Gray has scored more points than times he has been handed the ball. After his astonishing 254-yard, seven-touchdown game in Aledo's nationally televised win against Birdville (Texas) High, Gray's point total ballooned to 1,100. He carried the ball 30 times on Thursday, which brought his career total to 1,047 rushes.
The statistical anomaly was first noted by the Dallas Morning News' Corbett Smith, who crunched a few more numbers that demonstrate just how steady yet stunning Gray's rise has been. The most notable of those is that Gray was held below 1,000 rushing yards as an Aledo freshman, when he scored 84 points.
To overcome that impressive yet comparatively modest first season, Gray has essentially steamrolled everyone and everything in his path ever since. The back finished with the fifth-most single-season points in state history as a sophomore when he scored 354 and gained 2,813 yards. He was even better as a junior, scoring 368 points -- good for third best in state history -- and running for 3,221 yards.
Now, Gray has already gained 2,302 yards and scored 294 points during his senior season. Given Aledo's recent success -- the team has played in the state title game the past two seasons -- there's ample reason to believe that Gray's point-per-carry ratio might get even better, all while he approaches the ever-elusive national career scoring record currently held by former Colts running back Mike Hart, who is now a coach at Western Michigan.
Given Gray's current pace, within two months, that record might not even be as elusive as everyone thought.
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