Leominster’s Noah Gray is a Super Bowl champion.
Gray, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound tight end for the Chiefs, saw regular action as Travis Kelce’s backup. And on Sunday in Arizona, he caught one pass for 6 yards to play a small role in Kansas City’s 38-35 win over the Eagles.
Gray racked up 28 catches for 299 yards and a touchdown in the regular season and grabbed a pass in playoff wins over the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cincinnati Bengals.
Here are four things to know about Gray:
The local ties are strong.
Gray, 23, was born in Laconia, New Hampshire; grew up in Gardner; and attended Leominster High School. He started as a wide receiver for the Blue Devils, shifted to quarterback, then moved back to wide receiver as a senior and earned all-state honors.
He was a three-star recruit who earned offers from Duke, Army, Temple, New Hampshire, and Toledo.
He took it to the next level at Duke.
After starring with the Leominster Blue Devils, he did the same with the Duke Blue Devils.
He missed only one game during his time at Duke and left as the all-time leader in receptions among tight ends. Gray earned second-team All-American honors in 2019 and represented Duke at the 2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl.
Kansas City took Gray in the fifth round, with the 162nd overall pick, in the 2021 NFL Draft. He caught seven passes over 16 games as a rookie and expanded his role this season.
He grew up watching the Patriots win Super Bowls.
Gray said it’s always been a dream of his to play in the Super Bowl, per the Sentinel & Enterprise.
“It’s very surreal. I grew up watching every Super Bowl with my dad, who was always a huge Patriots fan,” Gray said. “They were either in the Super Bowl every year or at least contending to be there. Seeing New England play at such a high level for such a long time was inspiring.”
He’s grateful folks in Massachusetts have become Chiefs fans.
“I’ve got a lot of supportive friends at home,” Gray said. “There are people there who support me every week, no matter who we’re playing. I’m very grateful for it. And it makes me want to do more back home, like the camp I do and things like that.”
He has type 1 diabetes.
Gray has type 1 diabetes and wears an insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor, according to the Kansas City Star.
Per The Star: “He always has to plan his meals and snacks, though, saying ‘when I get away from my routine, it makes my blood sugar go funky.’ He has insulin ready in case his levels get too high and Gatorade energy chews around in case he starts to experience a ‘low’ — a quick sugar boost helps him avoid the dizziness and fatigue that can sometimes follow such an event.”
The Star’s Jesse Newell writes Gray “no longer views his condition as a detriment,” but that “the reality is that he must still work harder than most of his teammates to be prepared to practice and play.”
He views his situation as a platform to help others dealing with similar or worse circumstances.
“Trying to give as much as I can to other people has been something after I was diagnosed, that was super-important to me,” Gray told Newell.