Every time somebody has told Arthur Ray Jr., he can’t do something, he’s proven them wrong.
So, as he sits in his Chicago home with his family in anticipation of the 2015 NFL Draft, the 25-year-old hasn’t paid much attention to anyone doubting his ability to suit up for a professional football team.
“If I get drafted or sign as a free agent, it doesn’t matter to me. I just want an opportunity,” Ray said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “After everything I’ve been through, it’s a blessing just to have teams interested. Back in 2007, I never knew if I would play again.”
Ray finished his college eligibility during the 2014 season at Fort Lewis College, far from where the former recruit of Michigan State had imagined his playing days would end before a cancerous tumor in his left leg derailed his plans.
Two months after signing with the Spartans in 2007, Ray was in chemotherapy. Even after beating the bone cancer that made him question his entire future, Ray had three more bone-graft surgeries to fight infection.
He would only play three games at Michigan State but earned the Discover Orange Bowl/Football Writers Association of America Courage Award for the 2011 season.
Eager to continue playing football rather than sitting on the sidelines in East Lansing, Michigan, Ray discovered a small and struggling Division II program at Fort Lewis College in Durango. He saw it as an opportunity to get on the field and generate film he would be able to use when it came time to chase an NFL contract.
He was recruited by the staff of former head coach Cesar Rivas-Sandoval, who picked Ray up at the airport when he first arrived in town. Days later, Rivas-Sandoval was cleaning out his office, and John L. Smith, a former head coach of six Division I teams including Arkansas, Louisville and Michigan State, waltzed through the door.
“That’s one thing nobody knows, is Coach Rivas recruited me. Two days after I got on campus, he resigned; it was crazy,” Ray said. “In comes John L. Smith. It was a surprise for me as well.”
With a big-time football coach on campus, Ray instantly went to work earning the respect of his teammates and new coaches. Having a chance to get away from his surroundings in Illinois and Michigan helped him refocus entirely on football.
But Ray initially was cautious of his new surroundings.
“At first, I really didn’t want to come to Durango. I had never been to Colorado, and it was so different from my environment,” he said. “I got there and grew so much in a short time period; it was perfect for me. I was away from distractions, focused on football and what I do best.
“There was no pressure on me. I already had my degree from Michigan State, so I wasn’t worried about school or anything. I just wanted to showcase myself on the football field.”
Ray worked through a leg injury in his senior season and played eight games, and he was named to the All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference second team.
In all, Ray played 14 games in two seasons for the Skyhawks while suffering a knee injury in 2013.
At 6-foot-2 and 292 pounds, Ray was solid at left tackle for the Skyhawks, but he quickly knew he would have to transition to playing guard or center as he began to workout in preparation for the NFL Draft.
Though he once was one of the top guard recruits in the country coming out of Mount Carmel High School, the health issues have piled up so high that even Smith hesitates to say Ray could make it in the NFL.
“I think it is 50-50 at best,” Smith said. “What he’s gone through, being a little older and just the whole health deal, it really kind of set him back from where he may have been had he never had those problems. I hope he gets to a camp and can give it a final shot, but, from what I’ve seen of guys that make it to the NFL, it’s a 50-50 chance at best.”
After leaving Smith’s locker room at Fort Lewis College, Ray quickly picked an agent, Paul Sheehy or ProStar Sports Agency.
He then went to Atlanta to work with Chip Smith, a sports performance trainer who has worked with more than 300 current NFL players. While at Chip Smith’s facilities, Ray went to work with Bob Whitfield, a 16-year NFL veteran who was a first-round draft choice of the Atlanta Falcons in 1992. The 1998 Pro Bowler known as ‘Cyclops’ because had vision in only one eye, spent a lot of time working with Ray, pushing him but finding he couldn’t break the cancer survivor no matter how hard he pushed Ray’s leg.
“I just called him ‘Gimp,’ just like they called me ‘Cyclops.’ In football, the skin is thick as the scar tissue on Arthur’s lower leg,” Whitfield wrote on TackleSkills.com in a story titled ‘Things Bob will say about Arthur Ray.’ “He not only took my bombardment of ridicule mixed into the critique of his technique, he showed up eager for more of it.”
Ray worked out with the best linemen in country from all the power conferences across college football. He did it all in preparation for a chance to perform at Northwestern University’s pro day March 3 in Chicago.
“It was a great moment for me. Chip Smith and Bob Whitfield had me ready to showcase my ability,” Ray said. “A lot of people wondered if I could run or how I would look going through drills, but I was able to do everything.”
Ray said he improved in every workout and hit every goal he had set for himself. It was at his pro day where he interacted with NFL scouts for the first time.
“I talked to two teams – the Packers and Giants – and they were real excited to see me moving and how I was doing,” he said. “It was like watching your dreams slowly come true, but I don’t want to get too excited because nothing is guaranteed. I have to stay grounded.”
A month later, Ray received an invite to a private workout with his hometown Chicago Bears on April 7.
“That was a tremendous honor. I can’t thank the people of the Bears organization enough,” Ray said. “I had a good workout with their assistant offensive line coach, who had great things to say to me about my athleticism and that I proved I could move and punch and everything.
“For me, personally, playing for the Bears in my hometown would be the dream.”
Ray believes he has eliminated any doubt about the strength of his leg, and he hopes for a chance to prove he can play center or guard in the NFL, whether he gets drafted or invited to a camp as an undrafted free agent.
Though coach Smith isn’t sure Ray could make an NFL roster, he knows Ray would bring an element to the locker room every professional team needs.
“Off the field, there is not a better kid in the world,” Smith said. “He’s a great individual, a leader, everything you would want. You need a guy like that.
“One thing about Arthur is it doesn’t matter what he ends up doing. He’ll be successful regardless of what he does.”
No matter what happens after the draft wraps up Saturday, Ray said he already has achieved one big victory. He’s now confident in the leg that gave him so many problems, and he’s no longer afraid to prove to anybody that he is stronger now than he was before cancer tried to break him down.
“The questions have always been there, but answering them is the easy part now,” he said. “I used to have to deal with the reality that my leg might not be healthy enough to even play college, and I would shy away from it when people didn’t think I was ready. But I put in the time, rehabbed the right way and trusted my leg.
“There’s no question about my leg health anymore.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
Fort Lewis far from NFL factory
If Arthur Ray Jr. hears his name called in the 2015 NFL Draft, he would become just the third player from Fort Lewis College ever to be selected.
The 25-year-old offensive lineman is a long shot to be selected in this year’s draft after playing two years for the Skyhawks. He transferred from Michigan State, where he only played three games after beating bone cancer and ensuing ailments to the leg that had a tumor removed.
“It would be great. I know the football tradition is lacking up in Durango,” Ray said.
Cephus Weathersppon was the first Skyhawks football player ever drafted. Weatherspoon spent time at Fort Lewis College and Mesa Community College – now Colorado Mesa University – and was selected by the New Orleans Saints with the eighth pick in the 13th round in 1972. He played one career game.
The draft was reduced from 17 rounds to 12 in 1976. In 1994, the draft went down to seven rounds, where it still stands today.
Herman Heard was the only other former Skyhawks player to be selected by an NFL team on draft day. Heard, who played for Fort Lewis College and University of Southern Colorado – now CSU-Pueblo – was the fifth pick in the third round, 61st overall, by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1984 draft.
Heard played six NFL seasons, averaging 4.1 yards per carry while he scored 13 rushing touchdowns and three receiving touchdowns.
Ben Steele was the last Fort Lewis College player to play a regular season game in the NFL. The native of Palisade played tight end for two seasons for Green Bay as an undrafted free agent. He had four career receptions for 42 yards.
Ed Zeman also played three NFL games in 1987 as a defensive back for the Los Angeles Rams.
FLC has had a slew of players invited to NFL training camps and play in preseason games, the last being quarterback Tim Jenkins, who played one preseason game for the St. Louis Rams in 2013.
“I think our senior class from last year brought some awareness to Fort Lewis football in Durango, and I hope maybe getting drafted could bring it some more,” Ray said.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
