COLUMBIA, Mo. - Another day, another national honor for University of Missouri junior DE Shane Ray (Kansas City, Mo.). After being named a semi-finalist for the Bednarik Award, Ray has now added semi-finalist honors to his growing resume for the 45th Rotary Lombardi Award, as announced by the Rotary Club of Houston.
Ray was announced as one of 12 semi-finalists up for the award, which is given annually to the nation's top lineman (offense or defense), or linebacker. Four finalists will be announced on Nov. 20th, with the winner being unveiled on Dec. 10th at the Bayou Music Center in Houston, Texas.
Ray is enjoying a breakout season in which he's blossomed as one of the top defensive players in the nation in his first year as a starter. Through nine games, Ray leads the SEC in both sacks (12.0) and tackles for loss (16.0), while those totals ranks as the 2nd-most and 3rd-most in the nation, respectively. He's got 50 tackles overall on the season, and has four quarterback pressures to go with a team-best two forced fumbles for the 7-2 Tigers.
Ray has five games with two sacks on the year, including a pair of 4th-down sacks that helped key Mizzou's 20-10 win over Kentucky which put the Tigers in first place in the SEC Eastern Division (4-1 SEC mark). Three times this season, he has been named the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week, and he also was named the league's Defensive Player of the Week once, giving him four weekly league honors so far this season.
This marks the second-straight year Mizzou has had a semi-finalist for the Lombardi. Ray joins former standout Michael Sam, who eventually became a finalist for the prestigious award in 2013. For more information on the Rotary Lombardi Award, please visit the award website home at www.rotarylombardiaward.com.