GRAY GETS HIS SHOT: Former Florida A&M QB Quinn Gray saw his first extended regular season action in the Jacksonville Jaguars 35-30 season-ending loss to Kansas City and responded, throwing for 166 yards and leading the Jags to three fourth-quarter scores. Gray completed 13 of 22 passes and rushed twice for 26 yards, both times on scoring runs covering 9 and 17 yards.

Gray thus thrust his name into a budding quarterback controversy in Jacksonville. Starter Byron Leftwich was entrenched at the position until he went down with an injury in the seventh game. David Garrard replaced Leftwich and was the focal point of the team's run at the playoffs which ended with Sunday's loss. He held the position until the fourth quarter of Sunday's game. Gray entered the game after the Chiefs scored their fourth touchdown after Ty Law intercepted Garrard's pass, and sent the turnover-prone quarterback to the Jacksonville bench for the rest of the game. Gray, FAMU's career passing leader who signed as an undrafted free agent in 2003 and had appeared in only one game in three seasons, then entered the game. He led the Jaguars on three touchdown drives, finishing the first two with nifty runs. He then drove the Jags 51 yards in seven plays to pull to within five points with 5:00 remaining on Maurice Jones-Drew's 5-yard run. Gray's run for a two-point conversion was stopped short.

"I wanted to give our football team a spark," said coach Jack Del Rio. "He (Gray) did a nice job of giving us the spark and leading us to scores and giving us an opportunity. We have stated for some time that we think Quinn can play. He hasn't been given that opportunity. I know he gives (defensive coordinator) Mike Smith and the defense fits all week as the scout team quarterback." "I believe I can," Gray said when asked if he thought he could win the starting job. "When opportunity comes for that, I'll be ready to compete for it."

B-CC LOSES BARBER: Bethune-Cookman College men's basketball player Sam Barber has elected not to return to the basketball program effectively immediately. Barber had sat out three of the first four games this season due to a hand injury that he sustained just before the first game of the 2006-07 campaign against Florida Tech. Sam [Barber] and I have come to a mutual agreement that it is time for him to part ways from the men's basketball program here at Bethune-Cookman College for philosophical reasons," explained fifth-year head coach of the Wildcats, Clifford Reed, Jr. Barber, a 6-foot-6, 210-pound senior forward from Palm Beach, Fla., transferred into the Wildcats program a year ago from the University of South Florida. He was the third-leading scorer for the `Cats last year with 319 points (11.4 ppg) and was the returning scoring leader. He also ended the 2005-06 campaign as the team's third-best rebounding performer with 150 rebounds (5.4 rpg). Barber entered the 2006-07 season as a Second Team Preseason All-MEAC selection.

© 2007 Azeez Communications, Inc.

Return to Front Page