Eight years after Arthur Ray Jr. nearly lost his left leg to bone cancer and an infection that required three bone graft surgeries, the big offensive lineman from Chicago earned his chance to play professional football.
Ray, a graduate of Michigan State who finished two years of NCAA eligibility at Fort Lewis College in Durango, was invited to the Miami Dolphins’ rookie minicamp Tuesday after he wasn’t selected in last weekend’s NFL draft.
“It’s a great feeling. It’s confirmation that you’re on the right path,” Ray said Wednesday night in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “All I’ve asked for this entire process is to get a shot. I’ve done all the right things, so at least I can be OK in my head knowing that I’ve set myself up in a good position.”
A Durango connection will be made when Ray reports to Miami. He will be under the guidance of Dolphins’ offensive line coach John Benton, a 1982 graduate of Durango High School.
Benton, whose parents Jack and Virginia Benton still live in Durango, reached out to Ray on Tuesday morning after he accepted the invite.
“It was fun to talk to coach Benton. He said he was Durango born-and-raised, and we laughed about there not being too many people with Durango or Fort Lewis connections in the NFL,” Ray said. “It was good to connect with him, and I look forward to going to work this weekend.”
As news circulated Tuesday morning that Ray had been invited to work with the Dolphins, congratulations came down nation wide, including from FLC president Dene Kay Thomas.
“Good luck, Arthur! FLC is rooting for you,” Thomas posted to Twitter.
Ray, 25, was one of the oldest players in the draft this season. He played only three games at Michigan State after returning from cancer and his various leg ailments that hit just two months after he signed with Michigan State out of Mount Carmel High School in Chicago.
He salvaged his eligibility at Fort Lewis College, and he was named to the All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference second team as a left tackle in his senior season playing under head coach John L. Smith, who previously has coached Arkansas, Louisville and Michigan State.
With more film to show scouts and an entire offseason preparing for the draft at Chip Smith’s renowned facility in Atlanta with many of the top linemen in the draft, Ray was ready to show he was NFL ready.
“My agent talked to the Jets and Dolphins before the draft. It was a little confusing on my part watching the draft for so long. I created an image of how I thought it would go, then it goes completely different from what I envisioned,” Ray said. “I wasn’t stressing about not being drafted. I worked out Monday like I normally would and kept pushing forward.
“I had a lot of interest before the draft from teams, and I knew it wouldn’t go away.”
Ray said he is excited to make a name for himself at rookie camp as he tries to earn an invite to training camp. He said he looks bigger in person than his 6-foot-2, 292-pound billing, and he’s ready to prove that he and his leg can perform in the NFL.
“Coach Benton, staff and scouts saw different things they like in me. I want to go confirm I’m the same guy they saw on film, only bigger and stronger than they think,” Ray said. “I’m going to go do what I do best.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
