A.J. Gray whipped out his iPhone and scrolled deep in his notes app. He found what he was looking for after just 24 seconds.



All he could do is smile.



“April 23 at 8:30 am,” Gray says while shaking his head.



April 23 was one of the worst days of Gray’s life. Gray, his father Allen Gray, his mother Annie Gray, Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson and Dr. Jonathan Kim, the team’s cardiologist, piled into a conference room at Emory University Hospital for an appointment scheduled by Kim to discuss an MRI done on Gray’s heart for a team physical.



Gray, a two-year starter in the Yellow Jackets’ secondary, was born with one bicuspid valve causing him to have an enlarged aorta — the largest artery in the body. Georgia Tech was aware of his heart condition and had monitored progress of the growth of his aorta since his enrollment. He passed every physical until April 23 when it was discovered that his aorta...