Ben Bray excited by Sun Devils’ offer

When it comes to the recruiting process this time of year often times it’s somewhat of a routine. A college coach attends a high school showcase event, and later that day that college extends a scholarship offer to one of the players in the showcase.

And this is exactly what happened with 6-5 270-pound Mesa Red Mountain offensive lineman Ben Bray who yesterday received an offer from the hometown school, and a program he grew up rooting for.

“I visited ASU a few months ago for one of their spring practices and toured their facility,” Bray said. “But I really started talking to them more in the last few weeks. I was a little surprised to get the offer and it was really cool getting offered by the school I grew up with. My family was very happy too.

“It’s really nice to have a hometown offer.”

During his previous Tempe visit, Bray said he enjoyed being in the offensive linemen meeting room seeing their position coach Dave Christensen instructing his players. Bray commented that he came away very impressed by Christensen's coaching style.

“I know those guys come to work,” Bray stated, “and that coach Christensen drives them to play hard. I saw that in the offensive meeting and in practice.”

Bray said that in his junior year for the Mountain Lions he played both tackle positions and even one game at center. This isn’t only a testament to his versatility but also the cerebral aspect of his game, as the lineman currently carries a 4.7 GPA.

“Coach Christensen said that he doesn’t have to worry about me in the classroom,” Bray remarked, “because I have the grades and the work ethic for that. That was nice to hear from a coach, who basically said that he doesn’t have to babysit me. He said that I have a great knee bend and a lot of potential. He also said that there is an opportunity to play early at Arizona State since they are losing six senior offensive linemen.

“I’d like to play tackle at the next level, but if I have to play another position then I’m willing to learn. I’m a quick puller, I have quick feet and I know the game pretty well. If I have to play another position I will get the hang of it. I know I have to work on my pass protection against inside rushers. That’s what I have been working on all off-season, and also perfecting my zone blocking steps”

Recruiting analyst Cody Cameron said that Bray is one player who displayed significant growth in his game from his sophomore to junior year.

“He just rolled a couple of defensive lineman from a very good Queen Creek team in last year's 6A State playoff game,” Cameron said. “He does well engaging and moving his feet. Needs to practice his first step and staying low, also would like to see him get stronger in the weight room this off-season. Obviously, a lot of this comes with time and reps, Red Mountain has an outstanding strength and conditioning program so I'd expect Bray to be much improved in these areas next Fall.”

Yesterday marked the first time Bray received offers from Power 5 schools, as ASU’s Pac-12 foe, Oregon State also extended an offer to the lineman. Bray said that seeing coaches from those two programs, and others, served much more as motivation and less as a reason for anxiety to perform well.

“I know it’s important to perform well in front of college coaches,” Bray admitted, “but honestly there wasn't a ton of pressure. It was a very low-pressure environment, just playing with your friends. But at the same time, everyone knew it was super important and that just gave everyone the drive to play well and have fun while doing it.”

Bray said that he will attend ASU’s Big Man camp on June 9th, and plans to possibly take an official visit to Oregon State in the upcoming months. The lineman previously visited the other two in-state schools, Arizona and NAU. New Mexico State, Columbia, UC Davis, NAU and Utah State are other schools who have extended offers to date.

“I’m definitely going to officially visit ASU,” Bray said. “I’m going to talk more with coach Christensen and my parents to set up a date. Right now, I’m just soaking it all in, narrowing down my options and seeing what route I want to take.

“I want to make a decision earlier in the year, probably before the season starts. I want to enjoy my senior year without the stress of picking a college. I want to go to a school that has my major which is Actuarial Science, which I know ASU has and that’s nice. I want to go to a good football program that has a lot of opportunity. I’m looking for a good location and if it isn’t close to home then how easy is it to get there with a direct flight.”

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