The Sports Xchange

CHICAGO — Missouri defensive end Shane Ray could have taken the road-less-visible to the 2015 NFL Draft, but following a traffic stop that led to a marijuana possession citation just days before his anticipated shining moment, the projected first-round pick was not willing to hide his face.

Ray opted to join fellow prospects, 28 in total, Wednesday for a public appearance and NFL “Play 60” event in a gorgeous spring morning in Chicago. Ray, even in the face of public projections that he could fall into the second or third round, stood tall and vowed to stand for something other than ill-advised decisions.

“I don’t think a lot of people expected me to still come and be here, and face this,” Ray said. “But I’m a man and I’m not going to run from anything. I’ve been open with everybody with what happened and of course I’m very sorry that it did happen, but like I said all I can do is learn from my mistakes as a person just like everyone else and continue to grow, that’s the most important thing.”

Ray issued a statement to media following the ticket for pot possession and apologized primarily to his mother. Several teams reached out directly to Ray, he said, and some are bewildered how any prospect could be caught in this position — akin to being arrested the night before a game in the NFL. Commissioner Roger Goodell, also on hand to trumpet the draft buildup Wednesday, told Ray to keep his head up and moved past the mistake.

Ray, who also failed a drug test at Mizzou, is now automatically entered in Phase 1 of the NFL’s Substances of Abuse program and subjected to random testing.

Missouri State Highway Patrol cited Ray for misdemeanor possession of up to 35 grams of marijuana on Monday morning after being stopped for speeding.

“My whole career, I’ve made generally great decisions and I’ve had a slip up here and there and it happens, everybody makes mistakes. Nobody can look at me and say they haven’t made a mistake. Mine is only magnified because it’s three days before the draft,” Ray said. “I’m getting a little bit more interest from teams later on in the first round, that’s what it is.”

Not all teams will toss Ray’s name from their draft board. The Atlanta Falcons are in need of pass-rush help and coach Dan Quinn said in a radio interview on Tuesday that Ray is “absolutely” still on his team’s board. The Falcons have the eighth overall pick in the draft.