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Perhaps Eric Gray was always preparing for this moment.

The Oklahoma junior, who transferred in from Tennessee over the offseason, is one of two scholarship running backs entering the team’s season opener against Tulane in Norman on Saturday.

He and veteran tailback Kennedy Brooks will be responsible for carrying OU’s rushing attack, which won’t feature Rhamondre Stevenson or any running back from last year’s squad that finished 9-2 and clobbered Florida for a Cotton Bowl victory.

The duo will also be running behind a retooled offensive line, which is missing a few key 2020 starters that left school early to jump-start their NFL careers.

OU coach Lincoln Riley expressed faith in Gray and the Sooners’ short-staffed running back room during his weekly news conference on Tuesday. “We’ve still got four guys that we feel confident with,” Riley told reporters. “Honestly, you can never predict that you’re gonna have what has happened. I mean, you name it, it’s just been one of those years.”

Still, grabbing Gray out of the transfer portal has aged well amid an offseason where a few choices have blown up on Riley’s staff. 

There’s no denying the skill Gray brings as a former four-star prospect coming out of Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis, Tennessee, and one of the Southeastern Conference’s most productive running backs last season. Throw in the professionalism his coaches have raved about as early as the spring and Gray fits a rare mold of talent and maturity, which he’s personally been shaping since high school.

“He was our best practice player,” said Kevin Locastro, Gray’s high school head coach at Lausanne, in a phone interview with Eyes on Oklahoma. “And when your best player is your best practice guy, you've kind of found lightning in a bottle to a sense because it's just infectious to the rest of the guys of the team.”

As a sophomore and junior, Gray helped the program win back-to-back state championships and led it to the state semifinals as a senior. All the while, Gray was posting these numbers, which I went to multiple sources to confirm because they’re that absurd.

2016: 2,215 rushing yards, 230 carries, 38 touchdowns

2017: 3,151 rushing yards, 323 carries, 45 touchdowns

2018: 2,499 rushing yards, 241 carries, 40 touchdowns

“It's kind of funny, because the years that Eric was here, we were really, really good,” Locastro said. “We went on a 38-game winning streak and won a couple state championships. And a lot of games, Eric only played the first half. 

“That's what was so amazing about his stats in high school. I think his junior year he had 52 touchdowns

Gray made up for it throughout the week, spending his own time to improve his game.

His high school program used Hudl.com to store its game video, which offers players the ability to study game tape wherever they have Internet access and coaches to see how much film study their players are doing outside of team sessions.

Gray’s name was always at the top of Locastro’s list of most active users, and if he wasn’t, he was certainly No. 2.

Locastro believes Gray’s personal investment in football led to his ridiculous stat lines and numerous accolades. How his preparation has materialized on the football field, however, is why Locastro believes Gray can be special with the Sooners.

“Eric's always been kind of ahead of his time in terms of his approach,” Locastro said. “Even the practices, he would get down to the training room early, he'd get the bands out, he'd start going through a stretching routine before we ever took the field.”

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Gray’s high school running backs coach — his father, Eric — also encouraged his work ethic. Gray’s father played college football at Tennessee State, serving as a running back from 1985-87.

Now following in his footsteps, OU’s Eric Gray is poised for a productive 2021 campaign.

He and Brooks are expected to receive more carries than they might have before the likes of Marcus Major and Tre Bradford became unavailable over the last two weeks.

OU’s newest fan in Memphis, Locastro, isn’t worried about Gray not being able to hold up as one of two primary ‘backs on the roster. 

Gray doesn’t get enough credit for how physical he can be as a runner, the coach said, who pointed to the strides he’s made in the weight room since starting his college career two years ago.

It’s all a part of his calculated efforts to become a better football player, which Gray’s done everything himself to ensure.

“He's a guy that's always had goals set for himself and really did everything he could do within his power to try to achieve those goals,” Locastro said. “… He's had a lot of success in a lot of different facets in his life, but it wasn't happenchance that those things occurred, because he prepares himself to make those things happen.”