Julian Gray: "I Want to Be the No. 1 Guy"
NC State wide receiver Julian Gray met with the media as the Wolfpack proceeds through fall camp in the leadup to the 2023 season.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Gray’s interview.
On being back on the field for fall camp…
It feels really good to get back on the field and get back with my team, especially with Coach [Robert] Anae’s offense. Getting back into the groove of stuff, it felt good to finally get back out there.
On adjusting to Anae’s offense…
It’s good. To me, it’s a whole lot simpler. It’s much easier for everybody to run. It fits the skill set of everybody on the team.
On Joker Phillips adapting to the new offense and translating it to the wide receivers…
It’s going really well. Coach Joker’s been extremely versatile, not just with schemes but with the things he teaches. It’s really easy. Coach Joker has a lot of experience. It’s pretty easy for him to adapt.
On Keyon Lesane embracing a leadership role…
Keyon’s really taken ownership of leading the receivers, including me and people like Anthony Smith. He’s really taken that role and has done a great job leading us. He’s really taken control after Thayer [Thomas] left.
On Bradley Rozner’s presence…
Bradley’s been good. He’s been really good. We’re helping him learn the plays and everything that comes with it.
On his ceiling for the upcoming season…
My ceiling’s really high. I have really high expectations for myself. I want to be the No. 1 guy. I want to be the guy everybody hopes will score. I want to be the guy that’s looked as the speedster or the touchdown guy.
If Anae’s offense will help him flourish…
Absolutely. He’s really big on players’ skill sets and building his plays around players’ skill sets, and I feel like that’s very beneficial for me and my skillset.
On what he’s worked on in the offseason…
My route-running and making sure I develop a lot of patience because I’m so fast. Not only that, I’ve been working on learning the playbook.