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MU's Ray exudes confidence at NFL Scouting Combine
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_73524d13-a34a-5ff5-8874-303ea3ffca01.html
The remnants of a foot injury Shane Ray suffered in Missouri’s Citrus Bowl triumph over Minnesota prevented the defensive end from running or working out at the NFL Scouting Combine over the weekend in Indianapolis.
So any NFL team in search of an elite speed rusher must wait until Mizzou’s Pro Day to see how fast Ray runs. Expect the Rams to make the trek to Columbia on March 19.
The Rams have all kinds of defensive ends on their roster — they’re stacked like socks in a sock drawer on their depth chart. Even so, the Rams used one of their 60 formal interviews in Indy to get to know Ray a little better.
“They had me get on that (grease) board, and I drew out whatever I needed to draw out,” Ray said in describing his visit to the Rams’ suite. “And they loved what they saw.”
NFL scouts all over the nation loved what they saw of Ray last season. He led the mighty Southeastern Conference in sacks (14), setting a Mizzou single-season record.
In a passing league such as the NFL, pass-rushers are in high demand. As he met with the Rams as well as scouts, coaches and general managers from across the league in Indy, Ray’s message was the same.
“I’m your guy,” Ray said. “If you need somebody to go attack from anywhere on the field, and be unstoppable ...”
... He’s your guy.
“If I get a one-on-one, I’m gonna win it,” Ray continued. “You want a guy to make the play on third down and go get the quarterback, strip the quarterback (of the ball) — I’ll go do that.
“That’s what I did for my team, when they needed for me to make a play, or go chase down a guy with the football, I was the guy to go do that.”
So if we understand correctly, Ray is ready, willing, and able to wreak havoc.
“Yes sir,” he replied, confidently.
This is of the time of year, of course, when draft hype goes into overdrive. But it’s also a time when even the brightest draft-eligible college stars get critiqued and dissected, and sometimes torn down.
With that in mind, Ray has heard that his arms are too short. Or he’s too short. He isn’t heavy enough to play end in the NFL. Or he doesn’t move around well enough to play outside linebacker.
All of which explains his tweet from @X_RAYted56 on Feb. 13, or less than a week before the start of the Combine:
“I hear all the noise. More motivation to shut people up. Fuel to the fire.”
He was asked Saturday at the Combine to explain that tweet.
“Well, the noise to me is the comparisons,” Ray said. “The people saying: ‘Is he short? Is he 6-1? Are his arms short? Can he really run? Can he do all the things that people speculate?’
“That’s just noise to me. I kind of laugh about it, cause I’m like I don’t know who told everybody I was 6-foot. I’m taller than that, and I don’t have short arms!
“But I’m always finding something to motivate me in everything that I do. Sometimes, you might have to look at the media, and comparisons, and push yourself just a little bit harder just to prove everybody wrong. That’s kinda what I’ve been trying to do my whole life, is prove everybody the kind of elite football player I am, and what I can be.”
For the record, Ray measured in at just a shade under 6-3. His arm-length was 33 1/8 inches, not that far off from two of the other top edge rushers in the draft — Nebraska’s Randy Gregory (34”) and Florida’s Dante Fowler (33 ¾”).
Ray, who played his high school ball at Bishop Miege in the Kansas City suburbs, said he played in the 239- to 243-pound range during the 2014 Mizzou season. He weighed in at 245 pounds at the Combine, which puts him smack in that ’tweener category.
Is he a defensive end or linebacker at the next level?
“I’ve shown that I can make plays in the open field, that I can drop into coverage,” Ray said. “Throughout my (college) career, my coaches moved me all around the defense.
“I’ve played over three-techniques and beat guards. I’ve stood up and rushed from the middle and covered guys coming out of the backfield.”
But there was more “noise” coming out of the Combine when an unnamed scout told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that there’s “no way in hell (Ray) can be an outside ’backer.”
The scout cited Ray’s “body structure” and “degree of stiffness” as reasons he didn’t like Ray.
Ray has talked to teams that play a 3-4 front on defense and those that play a 4-3, adding that he has talked a little bit more to 3-4 squads.
Ray has told NFL teams he probably could get to 250 pounds and still hold his speed and explosiveness off the ball.
“I haven’t heard a complaint from any teams,” Ray said.
Apparently, then, he didn’t meet with the Journal Sentinel’s unnamed scout over the weekend.
To this point that scout’s opinion seems very much in the minority. With a little more than two months to go until the draft begins, some are projecting Ray as a top-10 pick.
“We’ll that’s not really up to me, but of course I’d like to be top 10,” Ray said. “That’s any football player’s dream.”
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_73524d13-a34a-5ff5-8874-303ea3ffca01.html
The remnants of a foot injury Shane Ray suffered in Missouri’s Citrus Bowl triumph over Minnesota prevented the defensive end from running or working out at the NFL Scouting Combine over the weekend in Indianapolis.
So any NFL team in search of an elite speed rusher must wait until Mizzou’s Pro Day to see how fast Ray runs. Expect the Rams to make the trek to Columbia on March 19.
The Rams have all kinds of defensive ends on their roster — they’re stacked like socks in a sock drawer on their depth chart. Even so, the Rams used one of their 60 formal interviews in Indy to get to know Ray a little better.
“They had me get on that (grease) board, and I drew out whatever I needed to draw out,” Ray said in describing his visit to the Rams’ suite. “And they loved what they saw.”
NFL scouts all over the nation loved what they saw of Ray last season. He led the mighty Southeastern Conference in sacks (14), setting a Mizzou single-season record.
In a passing league such as the NFL, pass-rushers are in high demand. As he met with the Rams as well as scouts, coaches and general managers from across the league in Indy, Ray’s message was the same.
“I’m your guy,” Ray said. “If you need somebody to go attack from anywhere on the field, and be unstoppable ...”
... He’s your guy.
“If I get a one-on-one, I’m gonna win it,” Ray continued. “You want a guy to make the play on third down and go get the quarterback, strip the quarterback (of the ball) — I’ll go do that.
“That’s what I did for my team, when they needed for me to make a play, or go chase down a guy with the football, I was the guy to go do that.”
So if we understand correctly, Ray is ready, willing, and able to wreak havoc.
“Yes sir,” he replied, confidently.
This is of the time of year, of course, when draft hype goes into overdrive. But it’s also a time when even the brightest draft-eligible college stars get critiqued and dissected, and sometimes torn down.
With that in mind, Ray has heard that his arms are too short. Or he’s too short. He isn’t heavy enough to play end in the NFL. Or he doesn’t move around well enough to play outside linebacker.
All of which explains his tweet from @X_RAYted56 on Feb. 13, or less than a week before the start of the Combine:
“I hear all the noise. More motivation to shut people up. Fuel to the fire.”
He was asked Saturday at the Combine to explain that tweet.
“Well, the noise to me is the comparisons,” Ray said. “The people saying: ‘Is he short? Is he 6-1? Are his arms short? Can he really run? Can he do all the things that people speculate?’
“That’s just noise to me. I kind of laugh about it, cause I’m like I don’t know who told everybody I was 6-foot. I’m taller than that, and I don’t have short arms!
“But I’m always finding something to motivate me in everything that I do. Sometimes, you might have to look at the media, and comparisons, and push yourself just a little bit harder just to prove everybody wrong. That’s kinda what I’ve been trying to do my whole life, is prove everybody the kind of elite football player I am, and what I can be.”
For the record, Ray measured in at just a shade under 6-3. His arm-length was 33 1/8 inches, not that far off from two of the other top edge rushers in the draft — Nebraska’s Randy Gregory (34”) and Florida’s Dante Fowler (33 ¾”).
Ray, who played his high school ball at Bishop Miege in the Kansas City suburbs, said he played in the 239- to 243-pound range during the 2014 Mizzou season. He weighed in at 245 pounds at the Combine, which puts him smack in that ’tweener category.
Is he a defensive end or linebacker at the next level?
“I’ve shown that I can make plays in the open field, that I can drop into coverage,” Ray said. “Throughout my (college) career, my coaches moved me all around the defense.
“I’ve played over three-techniques and beat guards. I’ve stood up and rushed from the middle and covered guys coming out of the backfield.”
But there was more “noise” coming out of the Combine when an unnamed scout told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that there’s “no way in hell (Ray) can be an outside ’backer.”
The scout cited Ray’s “body structure” and “degree of stiffness” as reasons he didn’t like Ray.
Ray has talked to teams that play a 3-4 front on defense and those that play a 4-3, adding that he has talked a little bit more to 3-4 squads.
Ray has told NFL teams he probably could get to 250 pounds and still hold his speed and explosiveness off the ball.
“I haven’t heard a complaint from any teams,” Ray said.
Apparently, then, he didn’t meet with the Journal Sentinel’s unnamed scout over the weekend.
To this point that scout’s opinion seems very much in the minority. With a little more than two months to go until the draft begins, some are projecting Ray as a top-10 pick.
“We’ll that’s not really up to me, but of course I’d like to be top 10,” Ray said. “That’s any football player’s dream.”