The Dark Lord has Nine. But we have One, mightier than they: the White Rider. He has passed through the fire and the abyss, and they shall fear him. We will go where he leads.
– Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
The term cheat code gets thrown around a lot in the fantasy sports space, but a potential WR asset that is taking carries while simultaneously replacing a player who toted the pig 205 times the year previous is, in my opinion, worthy of the term.
While Clemson’s Adam Randall gets all the attention this offseason from the CFF community, I posit to you that there’s another, better, and much cheaper option of the same elk right here at Liberty.
Julian Gray, who not only started his career at NC State but also as a wide receiver, is slated to be the starting RB for the Flames in 2025. When looking at what the aforementioned Cooley did as a rusher last season, it’s hard not to get excited. Not only are Cooley and his 205 carries departing the roster, but so is Billy Lucas, who had 123 carries himself. What’s more, gone is the team’s third leading rusher—Kaidon Salter (114 carries). For those keeping score at home, that’s a grand total of 442 carries that have left the team YoY (same staff by the way).
While Salter’s production will most likely be offset by Ethan Vasko at QB, it is fair to ask: what’s going to happen to all that rushing production?
Now you may say to me: “Sounds good, VP, but what if Gray loses his WR eligibility, which is what usually happens in these situations?”. A fair concern, I share this concern, but at the same time, there is a world where Gray is simply just a #VolumePig at RB, making him a viable player in that position anyway.
And as a former receiver, he offers utility in that capacity as well.
Here’s an update on the room from A sea of red:
Running Back: (A-Back) Juju Gray; (B-Back) Caden Williams OR Evan Dickens
Backup: (A-Back) Darius Copeland OR Vaughn Blue (B-Back) Malachi Fannin-RenderAnother position that will have a new look for the Flames this fall. Quinton Cooley and Billy Lucas are gone as are James Jointer and Victor Venn.
With Juju Gray a full-time running back now, expect him to get plenty of touches this fall. Vaughn Blue returns and should continue to see his role increase. Caden Williams, who redshirted in 2024 but got some playing time in the bowl game, will be in position to fight for serious playing time on the field this season. Evan Dickens, a transfer from Georgia Tech, will also be in the mix.
You heard the man—expect Gray to receive plenty of touches this fall. Though I can understand if you’re questioning the validity of a player with this career stat line:
Keep in mind, though, these types of things actually happen all the time in the CFF world. If anything, I’m encouraged by the receiving profile here. If he turns into a good runner (admittedly, that’s an important ‘if’), he could be one of the single best CFF RBs for 2025. I don’t think that’s hyperbole.
Coaching & System
RB1 PPG AVERAGE — HC: 15.9 — OC1: 16.7 — OC2: 16.71 (half ppr)
Jamey Chadwell is the head coach of this program, and his two OCs came over with him from Coastal Carolina. As can be seen below from Table 1, four out of the last five seasons, Chadwell’s RB1 has averaged over 15 PPG, and 15 or more opportunities per game between rushes and targets.
The receiving usage of his backs has fluctuated during this time span, ranging from nearly zero per game (Cooley in 2024) to almost four per game in 2019.
The RB1 carry share average from the last six seasons with this staff is 34%, but it went as high as 40% last season.
When Chadwell was with Coastal Carolina, CJ Marable and Shemari Jones each went over 1,000 yards rushing and double-digit rushing scores.
It won’t surprise the reader, given the rushing stats I outlined from last year, that this staff is run-inclined. They average 63% run plays, including 65% and 68% run plays while at Liberty in 2024 and 2023, respectively.
And just in case you missed it the first time: between RB1,2 and QB1, there are over 400 carries that have left this roster. It is my opinion that the starting RB, whether a converted RB or not, WR eligibility on Fantrax or not, should be heavily considered by the CFF-inclined reader when drafting their team this offseason.
If the player just so happens to have WR eligibility, then even better. It would likely mean that Gray would be one of the most coveted players in the game of CFF.
Julian “The White Rider” Gray (5’11″, 195)
2024 RUSHING STATS: 10 – 62 – 1 (4.9 PPG)
Gray was not a highly recruited player coming out of high school. Rated a three-star prospect, the WR from NC held offers from multiple P4 programs such as NC State, Duke, Georgia Tech, Rutgers, and South Carolina.
He signed with the Wolfpack as a member of the class of 2021 and spent three seasons in North Carolina. In the 2024 offseason, Gray decided a change of scenery was needed, and subsequently moved on to Liberty. His first year with the Flames was not a significant improvement, production-wise, compared to his time at NC State.
The receiver caught seven of his 14 targets for 97 yards and two scores (fumbled FOUR times, lost only one), and rushed 10 times for 62 yards and a score. The fumbling may be a big problem. He only had the ball 17 total times—that’s an almost 25% fumble rate. Yikes.
Gray mostly cut his teeth as a kick returner for the Flames, returning 17 for 348 yards, and two punt returns for 15 yards.
Unfortunately, Liberty’s players aren’t eligible in the Scott Fish Tad Bowl drafts, but if your league also includes return yardage in its scoring, this will potentially add to Gray’s value. Though I would imagine he’ll probably be taken off return duties as the starting RB now.
The thought of Gray returning kicks while also toting the rock 15-20 times with WR eligibility legitimately raised each and every one of the hairs on my arms whilst writing this. It would be very 2021 Hawaii Calvin Turner-esque with the whole ‘utility man’ thing going on with this profile… only better.
Turner never toted the rock that many times per game. At Liberty, that could really happen with Gray. And god help your competitors if it does.
I can already picture the pre-game speech that I deliver to my guys during a crucial week in the season:
“We have One, mightier than they: the White Rider. He has passed through the fire and the abyss, and they shall fear him. We will go where he leads.”
And I’m not a superstitious man, but I do believe good things happen when a player has the #1 jersey number. His being #1 on the depth chart earlier this spring is cool too.
However, I will note that I haven’t seen a recent update on the pecking order in the RB room. Nor do we have any explicit quotes from the coaches on what the plan will be on offense.
QB Ethan Vasko will be used as a runner, too, but given what this system was able to do at RB with Kaidon Salter at QB in years past, this is not something I am getting worked up about.
For now, we wait patiently to see if he retains his WR designation on Fantrax.
