Nearly unblockable off the edge or between gaps, Ray collected 12.5 sacks and a league-high 21 tackles-for-losses this season for the 10-3 Tigers, raising his draft stock from early-round pick to near first-day lock. Mizzou needed a player to step up as a leader on the defense after the Tigers lost Michael Sam and Kony Ealy and found that defender in Ray who, paired with Markus Golden, flourished.
Ray has already been named a first-team All-SEC standout multiples times this week.
His regular-season finale ended on a sour note in the SEC Championship Game when he was ejected for targeting in the second quarter when he went high on Alabama quarterback Blake Sims after the play.
