Travis Kelce Shows Love to Local Massachusetts Football Player on His Podcast

Autumn has officially arrived in Massachusetts and that means fall foliage, apple cider donuts, and of course, FOOTBALL.

While Massachusetts football fans who have pledged their allegiance to the Patriots have had a rough go at it the past few seasons, you can never count out an organization as iconic as the New England Patriots.

If you are looking for something to cheer for in the NFL besides a specific team, there are plenty of NFL players who were born and raised in Massachusetts and one of them took home a Super Bowl ring last year and was recently recognized by one of the best players in the NFL on the most popular football podcast in the world.

Who are we talking about? Noah Gray and Travis Kelce

Travis Kelce Shows Leominster, Massachusetts Native Love on the New Heights Podcast

Travis Kelce is currently one of the most prolific players in the NFL and is slowly climbing up the rankings as a sure-to-be hall-of-fame tight end, however, this season didn't start off the way he wanted it to. Kelce missed the season opener after bruising his knee in the last week of preseason practice, which meant some extra work for Noah Gray, a backup tight end in Kansas City.

In episode 53 of the New Heights podcast that Kelce hosts with his brother Jason, Travis says "We've got a bunch of great tight ends. Noah Gray did a great job" and credits his backup with helping the team get the win.

Noah Gray was born in Laconia, New Hampshire in 1999 and was raised in Gardner, Massachusetts. He went to high school at Leominster High School where he played originally played wide receiver, switched to quarterback, and eventually returned to the wideout position. His senior year was named to first-team All-State after a standout season catching 30 passes for 619 yards and eight touchdowns.

After high school, Gray went on to football at Duke University where his stand-out play landed him spots on the second-team All-ACC team and second-team All-American, making him a top prospect in the 2021 NFL draft.

In May 2021, Gray was drafted in the fifth round by the Kansas City Chiefs switching over to the tight end position. Gray has had great numbers in his first two years in the league including the Super Bowl in last year.