Wellington star, state champion Tanner Gray signs with Nevada football
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From state champion to FBS football player, all in just a few days.
It’s been that kind of week for Tanner Gray, as the football standout signed with the University of Nevada on Dec. 3, just days after leading Wellington to the Colorado Class 2A state title.
The 6-foot-3, 235-pound senior is a three-star recruit and the No. 23 player in Colorado, per 247Sports.
Gray’s 247Sports listed position is “athlete” after playing quarterback and defensive end in high school as a four-year starter. Nevada announced him as a defensive end (or “edge”).
The two-way player helped transform the Eagles from a new school (Wellington opened in August 2022) to a Colorado powerhouse.
Gray started over 40 games at quarterback for Wellington, leading an unbeaten regular season in 2023, a 2A runner-up finish in 2024 and a 13-0 state championship run in 2025.
He was named Most Outstanding Player after the Class 2A title game, running for a 57-yard touchdown, throwing for a score, and both forcing and recovering a fumble in the first half of the Eagles’ 35-0 win on Nov. 29.
“That’s what a D1 player does. He’s different,” teammate Ethan Thurnes said after the game.
The Class of 2026 signee was a prolific player on both sides of the ball.
Gray piled up nearly 5,500 total yards with 86 touchdowns in his career and accounted for 14 TDs in the Eagles’ four-game run to the championship this past November.
On defense, he piled up 170 career tackles (48 for loss) with 15 sacks and 69 QB hurries and was part of a dominant Wellington defense that allowed just 5.2 points per game in his senior campaign.
Gray will likely spend his collegiate career on the defensive side of the football. His powerful frame, intuitive football instincts and speed should play well on the edge for the Wolfpack.
Nevada is coming off a 3-9 season and just fired several assistant coaches, though the school did announce that coach Jeff Choate will return for a third season.
The Wolfpack’s 2026 recruiting class is currently ranked outside the top 100 in FBS, according to 247Sports.
Gray chose Nevada over interest from Washington State, Sacramento State, Black Hills State and Sioux Falls, among other schools.
He’ll go down as a legendary figure in the Eagles’ young athletic history. Gray is Wellington’s first Division I athletics signee and helped win the school’s first-ever team state championship.
Chris Abshire covers high school and community sports for the Coloradoan.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Nevada football signs Wellington star quarterback, defensive recruit
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