Danny Gray

#5 · WR · Sr. · SMU6′1″ · 180 lb · Dallas, TX · Madison

Danny Gray: WR · SMU · #5.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Donovan BrownSan Diego State · 2025 · 85% season match
DJ EppsTroy · 2025 · 84% season match
Jayden ReedMichigan State · 2021 · 78% season match
Xavier WorthyTexas · 2021 · 73% season match
Derek WrightUtah State · 2021 · 70% season match

Danny Gray

WR · SMU · Sr · #5

Wins underneath on volume and route precision. Played for two head coaches in two seasons at SMU. The first career honor came in 2021: All-AAC. A game that shows it: 140 receiving yards and 8 receptions against Tulane — Week 8, 2021.

Style of play

Play style

Runs precise routes in tight quarters. Volume player who keeps chains moving.

Fans

No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.

SMU in the news

Former SMU coach June Jones diesWFAA Oct 30
Temporary restraining order granted for BJ EdwardsOU Daily Oct 30
NC State fires Dave DoerenOct 29
SMU releases depth chart for Syracuse gameOn3 Oct 27

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2021	SMU	49	803	16.4	9	68
2020	SMU	33	448	13.6	4	62
Career		82	1,251	15.3	13	68

Season	Team
2021	SMU	3	40	--	--
2020	SMU	3	30	180	26
Career		6	70	180	26

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2021 season · 10 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 56-9vs Abilene Christian	4	72	18.0	2	30	2 TD catches
Wk 2	W 35-12vs North Texas	5	87	17.4	1	58
Wk 3	W 39-37@ Louisiana Tech	7	69	9.9	1	17
Wk 4	W 42-34@ TCU	4	130	32.5	1	68	130-yard receiving day
Wk 5	W 41-17vs South Florida	7	74	10.6	2	23	2 TD catches
Wk 6	W 31-24@ Navy	3	37	12.3	0	19
Wk 8	W 55-26vs Tulane	8	140	17.5	0	43	Season-high 140 yds
Wk 9	L 37-44@ Houston	5	73	14.6	0	37
Wk 10	L 25-28@ Memphis	4	98	24.5	2	48	2 TD catches
Wk 11	W 55-28vs UCF	2	23	11.5	0	12
Total		49	803	16.4	9	68

Signature game

Week 1 · 2021

W 56-9

vs Abilene Christian

4 rec · 72 yds · 2 TD · 27 rush yds (1 car)

Dominant 47-point win at home against Abilene Christian.

With T. Mordecai — 317 yds · 7 TD · 0 INT · QBR 92.3 · B. Hall — 67 yards per punt · 1 punts · 67 long

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 4 · TCU · 3rd and 1 · Q1 · EPA +6.23Tanner Mordecai pass complete to Danny Gray for 68 yds for a TD, (Blake Mazza PAT MISSED)
Week 2 · North Texas · 1st and 10 · Q3 · EPA +4.56Tanner Mordecai pass complete to Danny Gray for 58 yds for a TD, (Blake Mazza KICK)
Week 1 · Abilene Christian · 4th and 6 · Q2 · EPA +4.37Tanner Mordecai pass complete to Danny Gray for 27 yds for a TD (Blake Mazza KICK)
Week 1 · Abilene Christian · 4th and 6 · Q2 · EPA +4.37Tanner Mordecai pass complete to Danny Gray for 27 yds for a TD
Week 8 · Tulane · 3rd and 14 · Q3 · EPA +4.16Tanner Mordecai pass complete to Danny Gray for 43 yds to the Tulan 39 for a
Week 10 · Memphis · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +3.69Tanner Mordecai pass complete to Danny Gray for 48 yds for a TD, (Blake Mazza KICK)

4 more plays

Week 4 · TCU · 3rd and 4 · Q3 · EPA +3.52Tanner Mordecai pass complete to Danny Gray for 31 yds to the TCU 38 for a
Week 9 · Houston · 3rd and 17 · Q4 · EPA +3.51Tanner Mordecai pass complete to Danny Gray for 21 yds to the Houst 48 for a
Week 10 · Memphis · 3rd and 5 · Q4 · EPA +3.42Tanner Mordecai pass complete to Danny Gray for 27 yds for a TD
Week 3 · Louisiana Tech · 2nd and 17 · Q2 · EPA +3.26Tanner Mordecai pass complete to Danny Gray for 17 yds for a TD, (Blake Mazza PAT BLOCKED)

Teams and coaches

2 seasons under Sonny Dykes, all balanced offenses — 15-7 over that span.

2020SMU7-3HC: Sonny Dykes · Balanced

2021SMU8-4HC: Sonny Dykes · Balanced

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 70 (#65 of 468). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles · 2021 season

70Quality starter #65 of 468 · 2021?

12 metrics · season cumulative

2021 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Elite: td rate (96th percentile). Strength: epa / target (94th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

TD rate#26 / 655 · 96th pct

16.4%

EPA / target#41 / 655 · 94th pct

1.15

Explosive rate#51 / 655 · 92nd pct

23.9%

Yards / catch#69 / 655 · 90th pct

17.0

Catch rate#321 / 655 · 51st pct

76.1%

Box-score rates (7)

Rec TDs#28 / 557 · 94th pct

Rec yards#70 / 557 · 87th pct

803

Yards / catch#95 / 557 · 83rd pct

16.4

Long catch#99 / 557 · 82nd pct

Receptions#108 / 557 · 80th pct

Rush yards#60 / 273 · 77th pct

Rush TDs#57 / 273 · 40th pct

Season trend

Last seasonThis season

EPA / target

42nd → 94th percentile

Explosive rate

88th → 92nd percentile

Catch rate

52nd → 51st percentile

TD rate

66th → 96th percentile

Yards / catch

55th → 90th percentile

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps in 2021. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2021 season · 10 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home5g	5.2	79.2	15.0	1.0
Road5g	4.6	81.4	18.8	0.8

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-76g	5.0	78.2	16.8	1.2
Weeks 8+4g	4.8	83.5	17.0	0.5

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2021 season

Head Coach

Jim Leavitt

Pass share

53.0%

466 pass / 413 run

Plays / game

73.2

12 games

Team sack rate

3.3%

492 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced.

Awards

Player standing · 2021

All-Conference 1st team

First team in his league at the position.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

70 · #65 of 468 WRs · 2021

Former four-star. Now #65 at the position.

Danny Gray

Similar players

Style of play

Fans

SMU in the news

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

Signature game

Signature plays

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

All-Conference 1st team

Two seasons at SMU, drafted

2018

2020 8 games

2021 10 games

2022