Richards’ Pierre Ray Jr. was a good enough defensive back last season to pick up five Division I offers as a sophomore.
His workload will increase this fall when he starts at wide receiver in addition to safety.
His mindset? Bring it on.
“I got used to it the last couple weeks,” Ray said during a break in a joint practice at Morris with Wilmington on July 22. “I’m just running around now, just drinking a lot of water, taking my electrolytes. That’s all I can do.”
In fact, the 6-2, 185-pounder can do plenty on both sides of the ball for the Bulldogs, who are coming off a 9-2 season that included a South Suburban Red title and a trip to the Class 7A second round.
Colleges such as Purdue and San Diego State — who have already offered him — love his ballhawking skills on defense. And his speed and work ethic have made him a quick study on offense.
“He’s just a football junkie,” Richards coach Tony Sheehan said. “He loves being at football (practice), he loves working out, loves being around the guys,
“He’s constantly trying to get better, asking questions. He just lives on the field. He’s kind of the old-school gym rat.”
Ray will be working with senior quarterback Eric Jacobs, who started at defensive back last season when since-graduated Noah Escobedo was the QB.
“We’ve been having private sessions … going through our route tree, getting our routes down,” Ray said.
Those workouts are in addition to the Bulldogs’ summer contact days.
“When we (were) on our break, that’s all we did,” Ray said. “We’d just go meet up and hit the field and get our routes together.”
While he’s glad to help fill a need by playing receiver this season, Ray said his heart will always be on the other side of the ball.
“I played receiver in my youth days … but I just like defense,” he said. “I like to hit. I like hitting and catching interceptions.”
Ray is familiar with Sebastian Castro, a safety who starred at Richards and Iowa and is heading into his second NFL season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“I watched his film a little bit,” Ray said. “… He liked to come out and hit a lot, so I took some tips from him, yeah.”
Ray grew up doing a bunch of different sports, including baseball, basketball, wrestling and track (which he still does). But football’s been the one for him since his aunt got him into the sport as a 4-year-old.
“It’s just in my bloodline,” Ray said. “I just love playing it. … Like in basketball, I just can’t go hit somebody after a foul. With football, it’s different. It’s a game-changer. I can just go up and hit somebody and they won’t say (anything).”