He has led the Hornets to a 5-3 record, but Sac State senior quarterback Ricky Ray is a little disappointed so far.
Despite the winning record, Ray feels that Sac State could be better."If my career at Sac State were to end right now, the word that would explain it is could?ve or should?ve," Ray said. "Last year, the (four losses by a total of) 13 points, and this year, three plays (from being undefeated)."
Heading into his last three games of his college career, Ray does not want to lose another game to a team that he feels Sac State is better than.
"The main thing is to win. I want to avoid that word should?ve," Ray said. "If we?re going to lose, I don?t want it to be us losing it. I want that team to be better than us."
Although it is a rare moment when Sac State quarterback Ricky Ray is not at the football facility, there is another reason he is on campus quite a bit. Ray sports a 3.73 GPA.
"It?s pretty tough. I?m here doing football stuff pretty much seven and a half-hours a day," Ray said about finding time to do school work. "You have to use your time wisely. At the end of the day, the last thing I want to do is homework."
"I don?t miss class. The time I hear the teacher lecturing in class is less time I have to study on my own," Ray said. "Other guys miss class all the time."
Ray, a senior, transferred to Sac State after playing two years at Shasta College. While at Shasta, Ray was the California Junior College Offensive Player of the Year in 1998, as he led his team to the Pacific Graffiti Bowl. The previous year, Ray quarterbacked Shasta College to the Holiday Inn Bowl. In 1998, Ray led California with 2,759 passing yards in 1998.
One of the main differences that Ray sees between Shasta College and Sac State is how the teams handle road trips.
"In junior college, you get on the bus and leave at 6 a.m. Saturday (for a game on the same day)," Ray said. "At Sac State, you leave Friday and it is a weekend of us being ourselves and having fun."
For Ray the best thing about being a Hornet is the chance to be a part of the turnaround of the Sac State football program. Last year, Ray?s first with Sac State, the team went 6-5 and this year they are 5-3 so far. He hopes his two years here are the first of many.
"Setting a tradition. It feels good that we had our first winning season in 1 AA last year. So, when 30 years down the road, hopefully we?ll have something like UC Davis has now (31 consecutive winning seasons)."
Last year, Ray set the school record with 20 touchdowns and placed second on the single season list with 2,422 yards passing. But this year, Ray?s numbers are down a little bit. Through the Hornets? first eight games, Ray has thrown for 1,459 yards and eight touchdowns.
Ray sites better conference defense as the main reason for Sac State?s offensive statistical decline.
"Number wise, we?re a different offense. Last year, we scored a ton of points. This year, there are a lot more low scoring games," Ray said. "Defenses are a lot better this year in the Big Sky."
One of those defenders, Sac State?s sophomore defensive lineman Allen McCoy, likes what he sees of Ray.
"He?s really consistent. When he messes up, he keeps coming back," McCoy said. "You can always count on him to make the big plays. He doesn?t care much about the attention, he just wants to win the game."
Head coach John Volek feels that Ray helps settle down his teammates.
"The guy knows he?s tough. He brings a real calmness to the huddle," Volek said. "He definitely is a leader. He?s steady all the time."
Ray, who turned 21 years old on Sunday, was raised in a football family. They moved to Redding when he was four and have ruled that area in football ever since. Ray followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Barney, and manned the quarterback position at Shasta High School in Redding. Currently, a third Ray brother, Jeff, is the quarterback at Shasta High School.
"It fits the style of athlete that our family is," Ray said of the quarterback position. "It fits what I did. I wasn?t fast."
As a quarterback Ray must understand everything that is going on out on the gridiron on every play.
"There is a lot of mental prep going into it. You have to know lines and protections, as well as every route and what defense there is," Ray said. "When you break the huddle, you must have the right formations and check the defense. You have to know what everybody else is doing. Plus, there are four guys trying to kill you."
One of the guys attempting to keep Ray alive is offensive linemen Terence Wagner."He?s one of those silent leaders. He comes in every day and gets it done," Wagner said. "Even when we don?t block for him, he gets up, dusts himself off and is right back at it."Ray?s leading receiver this year has been Webb, who is growing more comfortable with Ray every day.
"The timing is getting better and better," he said. "Ricky?s a calm guy who doesn?t show much emotion."
Ray, a business major with a concentration in marketing, interned in the marketing department last fall.
"I talked to Solly (Fulp, the Director of Marketing and Promotions at Sac State) and really got interested and decided to go into it," Ray said. "They would have me write letters about ticket packages and answer a lot of phone calls."
Ray is not certain what his plans are after his time at Sac State is over next spring. "I?m not sure if I?ll be in sports marketing or advertising. I?ll see what opportunities there are; the Kings and River Cats are here," he said. "I would love to stay here and get a job."
Continuing his football career is also a possibility for Ray.
"If there is a chance, I would probably look into it. But I wouldn?t want to be one of those guys just making teams, bouncing around and getting cut," Ray said. "But I wouldn?t mind at least giving it a shot for a few years."
Volek knows that Ray has generated a lot of interest from the NFL and feels that he has a legitimate shot of playing at the next level.
"We?ve had probably 25 scouts in here," Volek said. "And they?re looking at him."
Ray will play the first of his last three games on Saturday against UC Davis, before playing in his last home game on Nov. 4 versus Cal State Northridge, at Fred Anderson Field.
