Aug 29, 2013; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Tyler Bray (9) throws a pass during the second half of the game against the Green Bay Packers at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs won 30-8. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Going undrafted after declaring early can either damage the psyche of a player irreversibly, or it can be a wake up call.
For Tyler Bray it appears to have been a wake up call.
Bray, who declared after his junior year at Tennessee, was praised by many scouts as having “the best arm in the draft”.
Unfortunately for Bray his maturity issues that plagued him at Tennessee were too great for a team to consider drafting him. Bray signed after the draft with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Most folks assumed Bray would be the Chiefs’ fourth QB throughout camp and would ultimately lose out to Ricky Stanzi.
As fate would have it, Bray impressed Andy Reid and the Chiefs from day one and easily beat out Stanzi.
According to Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean, Andy Reid said Bray “has been tremendous and handled himself like a man, not a young boy.”
That will probably come as a surprise to college football fans who were inundated with stories of Bray throwing beer bottles off balconies.
In the end it just shows what good coaching and a desire to not let the critics be right can do for a young man.