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Patience pays off as FAMU's QB finally gets his chance to excel.
By JAMAL THALJI
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 19, 2000
Patience is not merely a virtue for Quinn Gray.
It has been a way of life.
When Gray first came to Florida A&M four seasons ago, it was to start at quarterback and call the shots for the Rattlers' Gulf Coast Offense.
Each time Gray thought he was ready to take the controls of coach Billy Joe's wide-open attack, each time he entered camp as the starter, there always was someone else there to take the job.
He was redshirted in 1997. While Oteman Sampson guided the offense, Gray diagrammed plays from the press box. In 1998 it was Pat Bonner, transferring from Temple, who won the job. Last season it was senior transfer JaJuan Seider from West Virginia who pulled ahead of Gray.
The three blossomed into All-Americans guiding the Gulf Coast Offense. So what could Gray do?
The only thing he could: learn.
"He's been here for four years, and he's had the good fortune to play behind three first-team All-Americans," Joe said.
"He realizes this is a very competitive sport, and he also realizes the best quarterback on the team will play, irrespective if that quarterback is a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior. He's a very competitive youngster, but he knows that JaJuan Seider, Pat Bonner and Oteman Sampson beat him out of the spot. He's man enough to work really hard and to accept it."
Indeed. Now, the perennial backup has claimed the starter's job, leading FAMU to a 3-0 record.
"Oh, yeah, man, it's been a long time coming," said Gray, 21. "I'm just happy to be here, and I'm happy to have some success in the offense and hopefully we can take it all the way to the national championship."
Yes, FAMU's elusive national championship bid. Gray got the Rattlers into the Division I-AA semifinals last season, coming in during the third quarter of a 7-7 tie with Troy State and throwing the deciding touchdown in a 17-10 victory. It was the first time in 21 years a black college team had reached I-AA's Final Four.
But Gray remembers well how the playoff run ended the next week: 4 yards from a berth in the school's first Division I-AA title game.
The Rattlers held an 11-point, fourth-quarter lead over Youngstown State. Then a tired and battered Seider was replaced in favor of Gray. Gray drove FAMU to a third and goal at the Youngstown 4 with 8:40 left.
Expecting a blitz, Gray sent a quick pass into the end zone to wide receiver Jacquay Nunnally. But the ball was intercepted by Penguins linebacker Tim Johnson. Youngstown State then scored 14 points and won 27-24.
No one takes the loss harder than Gray.
"Without a doubt, I have to," he said. "If I take it easy on myself ... there's a lot of room for error. I can't take a lackadaisical attitude and say, "To hell with it.' I do care about it. I felt I let my team down when they called upon me to do my duty. I don't want the guys to think I'll let them down in a key situation, in a tough situation."
That experience, a productive off-season in Tallahassee and the years being groomed on the bench have made the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Gray the one to lead this complicated offense.
Joe's quarterbacks call their own plays. When Gray lost his job, it was to players who had learned the system better. Now, no one knows it better.
"No question about it, he has experienced, it seems, just about every type of adjustment a defense can present to us," Joe said, "and we've had some crazy defenses against the Gulf Coast Offense."
Gray agrees with Coach.
"I'm getting the offense down to a T," he said. "Coach Joe says I probably know the system better than he does. It's just time for me to put it to use."