Missouri junior consensus All-American DE Shane Ray announced Wednesday that he will forgo his senior season at Mizzou and enter the NFL Draft.
A projected first-round draft pick, Ray is the fourth Mizzou defensive lineman since 2011 to declare early for the NFL Draft, joining former standouts Aldon Smith, Sheldon Richardson and Kony Ealy.
Ray is coming off of a season in which he was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year while earning consensus First Team All-America status after leading the SEC in sacks and tackles for loss. His 14.5 sacks in 2014 are a new school record and ranked third nationally. His 22.5 tackles for loss also ranked third nationally.
Below is a transcript of Wednesday’s press conference with Ray, head coach Gary Pinkel, defensive line coach Craig Kuligowski and associate head coach Andy Hill.
Junior Defensive End Shane Ray
Opening Statement…
My announcement today is one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make. Just looking back on my reasons for my decision, I had a lot of great experiences here. My coaches believed in me from day one. I had a lot of goals I set out for myself this year. I was blessed to have teammates to support me and make it possible for me to accomplish what I was able to this year. With that being said, I’m going to move on to the NFL and declare and forgo my last season of eligibility. I just want to thank all the Mizzou fans, the Mizzou family; my brothers, my coaches, everyone here. I just want to thank everyone for the opportunity I was given here.
Mizzou Head Coach Gary Pinkel
Opening Statement…
Congratulations to Shane and his mom. He’s just really been a great player here. I’m just really pleased with it. We have a process that we use with our underclassmen so that if they make a decision like that, they have the information to make an intelligent decision. I thought between his mother and himself, they did things the right way. One thing is you have to come off a great year. When you’re a consensus All-American and SEC Defensive Player of the Year, that’s a pretty good year. Also in the process with the NFL and getting his name in and getting an evaluation back, teams did thorough evaluations and every one of them projected him to be a first round pick. That’s really important. You want to get the right information to make an intelligent decision. He went through the process. He really analyzed it and did it the right way. He has had a tremendous career here and he’s one of the best competitors I’ve ever been around in my life. It’s fun to see him mature as both a football player and young man. He’s one semester away from graduating so he’ll get that taken care of down the road. I approach this like the players are my own kids. When a player is a projected first round pick, and he wants to go, then he should go because that’s what I would tell my son.
Defensive Line Coach Craig Kuligowski
Opening Statement…
“We’re really happy for Shane and proud of him. Since he first got here, his competitive spirit has been outstanding. The word “can’t” is not in his vocabulary. He’s an extremely fun guy to coach because if you tell him he can’t do something, he will find a way to do it, which is great. He’s not stopped at getting better since he got here. Through the process this year, he’s handled it with grace and been true to our team. He’s developed from a guy that said `what I can do for me?’ to a guy that says `how can I help this team?’ He’s one of the best leaders on our team in and out of the locker room not only with his play, but also his motivation to inspire our team to great heights. We’re very proud of him. He certainly set a standard that can hardly be matched in any year following. It’s easy to see from his great family why he is such a success and I just want to congratulate him on a great year and hopefully an unbelievably successful career.”
Associate Head Coach Andy Hill
Opening Statement…
“As we went through the process of starting evaluating Shane, we could tell he would develop into a great player. I know he worked his tail off his senior year of high school to add on weight before he got here. He’s always been a great kid. He’s played great and played better every single season he’s been at Mizzou. I know we’re very proud of him, but going back to see him as a freshman to declaring for the draft here today, he’s made remarkable improvements. It shows his determination and his desire to be great. It’s a great example of guy from Missouri staying in Missouri and developing him with our staff throughout his career. All those people are part of his success. I think it’s an example of what can happen when you come to Mizzou.”
— MU Sports Information —