HATTIESBURG — Oak Grove star and recent Southern Miss football commit JQ Gray was never exactly slow – you don't run a 4.34-second 40-yard dash without a certain degree of natural speed.
But don't make the mistake of assuming Gray's quickness came free. Never the fastest player on his teams growing up, one day Gray told his father he wanted to be a better football player. Hours upon hours of toil crafted Gray into an athlete capable of posting such an eye-popping time.
"I had to work for it," Gray said. "I started running on the parachute and stuff in middle school.