SOUTH BEND, Ind. - One text message has already come through this week, and it was from Michigan safety Troy Woolfolk, arriving in the cell phone of Notre Dame running back Jonas Gray.

It wasn't just to say hi.

"He was talking a little junk," Gray said, wearing dark blue Detroit Pistons shorts. "He's just asking me if we were ready to play. Nothing too bad yet, at least."

It could get worse. Gray, a Pontiac native who starred at Detroit Country Day, knows about half of Michigan's roster. He played high school football against Obi Ezeh. He knows Boubacar Cissoko. And Woolfolk. And he spent some time with Michigan's players this summer since the Wolverines needed to report back before Notre Dame did.

It's all leading to excitement for Gray, who has actually gotten to play this season. The 5-foot-10, 220-pound sophomore with legs like a bodybuilder rocketed up Notre Dame's depth chart in the preseason, eventually landing behind starter Armando Allen.

It was enough to pick up nine carries Saturday in Notre Dame's 35-0 win over Nevada, gaining 50 yards.

He arrived at Notre Dame knowing there was a crowd in the backfield with Allen, Robert Hughes and James Aldridge. Didn't matter. And now, he gets to go home to play.

"Sometimes in recruiting players look at depth charts. And when they look at depth charts and see how quick can I play -- but then there is the players who don't care about the depth charts because they figure they're going to come in here and play well enough they're going to move by people, and that was his attitude," Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said. "Jonas didn't care who was here. We could have had Jerome Bettis and he still wouldn't have cared; in fact, he might have already thought he was better than him.

"But Jonas has an attitude -- and he'll be fired up this week because anytime you're going back to your home state to play -- we have to make sure he stays on the even keel, because he's getting to come back home."

Michael Rothstein covers Michigan sports for Annarbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.