QA with Cyrus Gray

Cyrus Gray came into the 2010 season as the backup running back to Christine Michael; he ended his junior year with seven consecutive 100-yard games and national attention. One of the more popular members of the Texas A&M football team in recent years, Gray sat down with Aggieyell.com after the Aggies' first practice of the fall Tuesday.

Q: First off, how's the hamstring? (Gray tweaked it early in practice)

A: It's nothing bad; they just held me out on some team stuff today. So hopefully I get that gone and be out there practicing.

Q: How did feel to finally get back out there and start your senior campaign?

A: It feels good. To see guys moving around, new faces, it's a new team and new goals. It's great so far and hopefully we can get this thing rollling.

Q: You're part of coach Sherman's initial class. Tell me a little bit about how things have changed since you got here as a freshman.

A: Things have dramatically changed. We've got a great team, a lot of character guys who can also play. My freshman year, a lot of guys really weren't in the boat. They were kind of selfish or there was more of a clique situation. Now, it's more of a family situation. Guys are hungry and they buy into what coach Sherman is doing.

Q: Coming in as the ninth-ranked team in the country, you've got some of the national guys around for the first time in a while. Kind of worried about anyone falling prey to the hype, or has everyone bought in?

A: Honestly, I don't think anybody has taken that seriously or even looked at that. The biggest thing around here is not how you start, it's how you finish. Guys are hungry, they want to win and they've got great teammates.

Q: One position where you've got a lot of hungry guys is yours. Christine (Michael) is back, Ben Malena looks better, Mister Jones and Will Randolph. Tell me about the guys you share the position with.

A: I love my guys and the backs that we have and coach Jordan. He's an extension to that. Christine, he's back and he looks good. Hopefully I can see him the pads. He and I have talked about some things that he's looking forward to working and improving on. Ben looks great, he's lost a lot of weight and moving a lot better. Will's still finding his way; you know, he's a freshman, but he made one run today that really impressed me. Mister, he's come a long way. He knows his playbook and he's learning and he's going to do good. And Jay Tolliver is doing good and he's back this year too. We've got a pretty stable running back group.

Q: Tell me a little bit about going from a guy in the rotation to the guy in the national spotlight.

A: You know, it's something that I've been used to. One thing about me, I've never been a selfish person, and at the running back position, you can't just focus on one person. You need more than two, you really need three guys. My situation here has been good and I've loving it so far; I'm a senior, I'm leading the pack and I have to do the right things to show the guys what they need to do on and off the field.