The SEC’s Defensive Player of the Year finds himself in an interesting scenario just days before the NFL draft.

Missouri defensive end Shane Ray was cited for marijuana Monday morning in Cooper County, Missouri. You can read about the arrest here.

The timing couldn’t have been worse, as Ray was projected to be a first-round pick in Thursday night’s NFL draft. Following the incident, Ray released an apology statement via his agent:

“I’d like to apologize to my Mother, Fans and prospective NFL teams for my poor judgement Monday morning . I am embarrassed and realize there are consequences for my actions. I was not under the influence nor impaired, therefore I was not detained. Fortunately, Mondays incident only resulted in a citation. I will make better choices in the future. It is imperative that I continue to strive to better myself. My future NFL career has been something I have always dreamed about and is very important to me. I commit that my actions will represent that. There are no excuses here and I will take the necessary steps to ensure this will not happen again. I will not jeopardize my ability to have a positive impact on and off the field moving forward.”

It’s unknown what effect the incident will have on Ray’s draft stock. General managers, scouts and coaches alike all know about the incident by now. His stock will likely take a hit, but it’s unlikely he’ll fall out of the first round.