He was measured in at 6' 3", 199 and ran a 4.53 forty
with a 36 1/2" vertical.
It is no wonder that schools like LSU, Maryland,
Ole Miss, LSU, Alabama, and Florida State had thrown their name into the offer
hat. It looks like two more schools have joined the list of pursuers.
"Arizona State and Georgia offered me this month too. Coach Lubick at Arizona State was
actually recruiting me while he was at Ole Miss, so he was real familiar with
me, and Georgia was just waiting on my film," added the very well spoken
Melvin Ray.
Last season Ray averaged over 21 yards a catch for Chiles and
was named 1st Team All Big Ben (District), All-State, and Conference.
"I
think definitely I am strong off of the line. Not many guys can jam me off of
the line of scrimmage. Probably my biggest strength is my strength and speed.
That and my quickness and hands."
Ray still has room for improvement.
"I
need more upper body strength. Even though I am noted as a physical receiver,
I am no where near where I can be."
The 206 pounder just got back
in from Ole Miss this past Saturday.
"I went up to their Spring game
with my two parents, my younger brother and sister. Normally it is just my parents
who come with me, but my little brother and sister wanted to see what Ole Miss
was all about too."
What were their thoughts?
"My family
loved it actually. The city is kind of small, real small. We did not expect that.
But once we got to the campus, it blew us a way. It caught us off guard. It was
a lot more than what we expected."
What was Melvin expecting before
he saw the campus?
"I was expecting it to be an average school with
average facilities. See, I have already been to FSU and Florida, and they are
top notch schools. I did not think Ole Miss would be anywhere comparable to those
schools, but they can hang with those guys campus wise, facility wise, coaches
wise, and players wise. I just did not know it was that high quality at Ole Miss."
What
did Ray observe at the scrimmage?
"I talked to Coach Freeze before
the game. He told me about the QB that transferred in from Texas. Coach Freeze
said we could grow up together at Ole Miss since he is just a freshman. So basically
I was just studying what kind of game he had. And I tell you, right now, he is
as good as any QB I have seen at any school, Florida, FSU, anywhere. He is that
good. That really stood out to me. I know if I go there, I will have one of the
best QB's in the country to get me the ball. I also wanted to see what their tendencies
were on offense, and they throw the ball a lot. That was nice to see. The last
thing I focused on was their RB's. I do not care what kind of QB you are, if you
do not have good RB's, it will not work. And they had some real good RB's. #25
(Cordera Eason), I looked him up in the program, and he is just a freshman. That
man can play. He was running over and around anybody who got in his way. He is
big time. I was just impressed with everything at Ole Miss. The facilities, coaches,
the young players on their team, their offensive philosophy, campus, just everything.
I really can see myself playing for Ole Miss."
The Ole Miss coaches
were certainly excited to have Melvin in town.
"They were very excited
about me being there. You know how recruiting goes, they will tell you anything,
but I was just one of hundreds (of recruits) at their game. They showed me a lot
of interest, genuine interest. Every coach, from Coach O (Orgeron), to every assistant
on their staff came up to me and shook my hand and told me how good it was to
see me there. Me and Coach Corrao hung out for a while. He is the coach that is
recruiting me. I have a real good relationship with Coach Corrao. He is more like
a friend to me more than a coach. We just have that bond."
The players
at Ole Miss also had an effect on Ray.
"After the game was over, I
got a chance to talk to the players. They like to have a good time, which is good.
I wanted to see what their relationship was like with their coaches. They are
like a big family. It was fun to watch how the coaches and players interacted
with each other. It is just a great place to be outside of football."
Where
does Ole Miss now stand with Melvin?
"Even before I went on my trip,
they were in my Top 5 with Alabama, FSU, Florida, and Georgia. Right now, I am
really open. My first focus was on Florida, Florida State, and Georgia, but now
Ole Miss is right in there with them. I have been a big Georgia fan since I was
a child, but that visit to Ole Miss helped them a lot in the way I think of Ole
Miss. I will definitely take one of my official visits to Ole Miss. I was just
as impressed with them as I was with the other schools I visited because I am
looking more at how I would fit in outside of football, and I just felt at peace
at Ole Miss."
Ray reports a 2.8 GPA / 960 SAT.
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