Quinn Gray introduced as Albany State’s new football coach

ALBANY — Though he has been on the job for a couple of weeks, the Albany State University athletic department officially introduced Quinn Gray as the new head coach of the Albany State University Golden Rams football team. Decked out in the ASU blue suit with a yellow shirt and a matching tie, Gray spoke for about 30 minutes before delving into specific interviews with members of the media.

Gray, a graduate of FAMU in Tallahassee, was working as the senior offensive analyst for the University of Memphis before being selected by the search committee at Albany State. The position came open when Coach Gabe Giardina left ASU to return to Charleston Southern as the new head coach there. He had coached at Charleston Southern before coming to Albany State.”I stand on the shoulders of giants who have been here before me,” Gray said in his opening. “I stand on the shoulders of legendary Mike White, of Hamp Smith, and of Gabe Giardina. I am here to move the needle. We want to move the needle here at Albany State and we need all of you to be in with us,” Gray told those gathered at Eula Lovett Hall just south of the Albany State Coliseum on the East Campus of Albany State.

“We will play smart, fast, physical football at Albany State,” he said. “And we are looking for players who want to make an impact now. We are not waiting for a year or two to win, we want to win now. Now is the time.”

Gray said he is recruiting players who will also be successful in the classroom and his goal is to have a team with a 3.0 GPA.

“We are wanting players from close by and even those from states close to us. If the player is on the line, that border policy makes it in-state tuition so we are trying to be smart with our resources. We want players who can succeed in the classroom because we want to give them the opportunity to be who they want to be.”

Gray and those who have joined his staff have been busy the last few weeks since joining Albany State. The NCAA national football signing day is just around the corner, on February 1, and Gray and his team have been hosting small groups of recruits on the weekends. He said from a group of six recruits who came to ASU last weekend, five committed to play at Albany State. Another group of 15 recruits is scheduled to come this weekend.

“You are going to be very impressed and very pleased with who we have coming to Albany State and signing on February first,” Gray said.

Gray comes to Albany as a product of an HBCU — Florida A&M University where he played quarterback and set passing records for the Rattlers. He threw for 7,378 yards in 562 completions and 57 touchdowns. He played for the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He also played in the United Football League and professional football in Germany.This will be Quinn’s first head coaching position at the college level. He has been the quarterback coach at Alcorn State University, 2020-2022. He also served as the associate head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach at Florida A&M University (FAMU) from 2011-2014 and spent three seasons as head coach at Lincoln High School in Florida.

Joe WhitfieldJoeWhitfield[email protected]
Joe WhitfieldJoeWhitfield[email protected]