Carlton Gray

Carlton Patrick Gray (born June 26, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins, and was recognized as an All-American. He was selected in the second round of the 1993 NFL draft by the Seattle Seahawks, and also played in the NFL for the Indianapolis Colts, New York Giants and Kansas City Chiefs.

Gray was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.^[1] He went to Forest Park High School in Cincinnati,^[2] and was a prep standout in football, basketball, and track, running for Forest Park under coaches Lou Cynkar (High School) and James Michael Lafferty (junior high). He was awarded the Dial Award for the national high school scholar-athlete of the year in 1988. His grandfather, Benjamin Hooks, retired as the executive director of the NAACP.^[3]

Gray attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where he was a four-year starter for the Bruins teams from 1989 to 1992. He earned consensus first-team All-American honors as a senior, as well as first-team All-Pac-10 accolades. He finished second all-time in UCLA history with 16 interceptions. In 1989, he became the first freshman in a decade to start at least eight games for UCLA. In 1991, Gray finished second in the nation with 10 interceptions. After his senior season in 1992, Gray was selected to play in the Hula Bowl and East-West Shrine Game.

In the 1993 NFL Draft, Gray was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round with the 30th pick overall pick.^[4] He played for the Seahawks from 1993 to 1996.^[5] On July 22, 1993, he officially signed with the Seahawks. His rookie year he played in ten games, starting two of them. He missed the final six games of the regular season due to an ankle injury. He also recorded a sack in 1993. In 1994, he played in 11 games before breaking his arm against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in week 11 and missed the rest of the season. Both 1995 and 1996, Carlton played in all 16 games. In 1995, Gray had his most productive season as a pro, being second on the Seahawks with four interceptions. He also had a career-high 68 solo tackles and 5 assisted tackles. On February 16, 1996, he re-signed with the Seahawks. During his four seasons with the Seahawks, he had a total of nine interceptions, and one sack.^[5]

On March 3, 1997, Gray signed a 4-year, $9.7 million deal with the Colts as a free agent. During his one season with the Colts, he had 24 tackles and two interceptions.^[5] On September 3, 1998, the Colts released Gray because cornerback Tyrone Poole returned from an injury.

In his one season with the Giants, Gray played in 14 games and recorded 27 tackles, his second career sack, and one interception.^[5]

Gray signed with the Chiefs after the departures of Dale Carter and Mark McMillian. The 1999 season, he played in all 16 games, and recorded seven tackles.^[5] During a scrimmage at River Falls in 2000, the Chiefs were scrimmaging the New Orleans Saints, and while a Saints player was at the bottom of the pile, Gray sucker punched him. After that, he rarely played, appearing in only four games.

On June 6, 2001, the Bengals signed Carlton Gray to a two-year contract. However he was cut in training camp and never played a game with his hometown club.

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