Johnathan Gray finally admitted Monday what anyone watching the Texas running back early last season assumed.

He wasn't himself.

A November 2013 Achilles tendon injury would have knocked a lot of people out for the 2014 season. Redshirting was at least thrown around as a possibility, but Gray was back on the field when the Longhorns began the first season of the Charlie Strong era against North Texas.

He opened his junior season with 84 yards on 16 carries against the Mean Green, but Gray's season was defined by mixed results the ensuing weeks. He rushed for a total of 140 yards in the next three games, posted 79 on 12 carries against Baylor then rushed for a total of 67 yards (2.7 yards per carry) in the three games that followed.

More so than the production, Gray just didn't look like the back who was on pace for 1,000 yards before his 2013 injury. It wasn't until November, about a year after the injury, when Gray finally started to feel like his old self.

“I would say the West Virginia game I felt like myself,” Gray said. “My body was in tune with what I wanted to do. I guess West Virginia I would say I was back.”

The results show Gray's self-assessment to be an accurate one.

Gray had three tremendous games in November starting with the Texas Tech game Nov. 1. He rushed for 77 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries against the Red Raiders before exploding for a season-high 101 yards on just 10 totes with 3 touchdowns the following week against the Mountaineers.

By following those performances with an 81-yard, 16 carry effort (including a rushing touchdown) against Oklahoma State to help the Longhorns clinch a bowl berth, Gray wound up with 259 of his 637 yards and 5 of his 7 rushing touchdowns on the season in that three-game stretch. Rejuvenated by the late-season surge, Gray entered spring ball in tremendous shape.

That was his goal entering the offseason as he's now being counted on to be the primary ball carrier for the first time in his Longhorn career.

“With this offense you can't be out of shape,” Gray said. “You have to line up [quickly]. You might run 20 yards and back called right back to go again, so you have to be ready for that.”

He's healthy, – legitimately at this stage of the game – he's in shape and he's excited about the Longhorns' up-tempo offense that will be on full display for all to see at 1 p.m. Saturday inside Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium when Texas gets going in the annual Orange-White Scrimmage.

“It's a lot more running when we have the ball and we don't have the ball,” Gray said. “We were in this offense two years ago, so it's nothing new to me. I like it and I think it's effective.”