Missouri Tigers DE Shane Ray Officially Declares for NFL Draft

To the surprise of very few, Missouri Tigers redshirt junior Shane Ray officially announced on Wednesday afternoon that he will forego his final year of collegiate eligibility and enter the 2015 NFL Draft.

Ray, who was in his first year as a starter, replacing Kony Ealy, who himself entered the draft as a junior after last season, led the SEC with 14.5 sacks during 2014. He also contributed 65 tackles, including 22.5 for loss.

During his Wednesday press conference, Ray called the decision to leave the Missouri program “one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make.” Ray, who has been part of the Top 5 in many experts’ early mock drafts, received a first-round projection from the NFL Draft advisory committee. As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch‘s Dave Matter relayed on Wednesday, Ray’s mother said she wouldn’t have given him her blessing to enter the draft if he had received a second-round grade, as he promised her he would earn his degree and is still a semester away.

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The Tigers will be forced to replace a defensive lineman due to early departure for the draft for the fourth straight year, as they’ve lost Aldon Smith, Sheldon Richardson, Ealy, and now Ray in the past four seasons. As Mizzou defensive line coach Craig Kuligowski said on Wednesday, the staff has become accustomed to preparing for early departures, in part due to surprising experiences with defensive tackle C.J. Mosley in 2005 and Smith leaving as a redshirt sophomore in 2010.

Though the Tigers have had to deal with the adversity that comes with losing a player in advance of their anticipated departure from the program, the success that has come with those players’ high selections in the NFL Draft has brought some recruiting leverage to the program. Ray’s projection as a high draft pick could increase the interest in Mizzou for East St. Louis defensive tackle Terry Beckner Jr., who is the top-ranked player by ESPN in the 2015 recruiting class and is scheduled to visit Mizzou on January 30.

As far as replacing Ray, the Tigers are likely to turn to Charles Harris, who like Ray is considered to be an elite athlete and collected two sacks as a redshirt freshman this past season.

Next: 2015 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Boise State RB Jay Ajayi