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RedHawk is getting ‘life experience’ on O-line

Whether playing at center or on the scout team, Bray does best to execute his role.

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By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer 1:26 AM Wednesday, August 25, 2010

OXFORD — There is nothing less glamorous in college football than playing on the offensive line. Unless it’s an offensive lineman who is toiling on the scout team, playing out of position.

Steve Bray said he doesn’t mind.

“It’s something I’ve learned to accept,” said Miami University’s 6-foot-1, 250-pound junior center from Cincinnati. “I’ve learned that putting in the work is just as important as getting to play. It’s like a life experience.”

Bray’s work this summer also has a practical side for the RedHawks. Injuries have created holes along the line of scrimmage, and Bray has been there to plug those holes.

“I was playing center with the second string a lot during (summer) camp,” he said. “Then once we got some more healthy players back on the offensive line I moved back to the scout team.”

Players on a scout team imitate the starters of their upcoming opponents during practice.

“I’m playing defensive tackle,” Bray noted. “There have been injuries and I’m hoping to provide some depth on the scout team.”

Bray was no stranger when he joined the RedHawks as a preferred walk-on during his true freshman season in 2007.

He is the son of Miami radio color analyst Tim Bray, who has been with the Miami Sports Network since 1997, and who also is the director of media relations for the Kentucky Speedway and a former sports anchor at Cincinnati’s WKRC-TV.

“I grew up coming to the games when he was doing them on the radio,” Steve said of his father, “but I never thought I’d come here to play football. It’s been a real blessing to have my dad be a part of the Miami Family.”

Bray was an all-district center at Turpin High School, where as a senior he helped lead the Spartans to the Division II state semifinals. Bray said he was recruited by Case Western Reserve, Ohio Northern and Centre College in Kentucky, “but Miami was the only Division I school that showed any interest.”

He was redshirted as a freshman and saw his only playing time to date during the 2008 season, three plays during the third quarter of Miami’s 31-16 loss to 14th-ranked Ball State.

“I went in at center and just did my job,” he said. “That was definitely something I wasn’t expecting, but I was prepared. I had so much adrenaline flowing it was almost like a dream, but I was able to execute the way I practiced.”

That should be no surprise. Bray has a good head on his shoulders, a mechanical engineering major with a 3.3 grade-point average who plans to graduate next May.

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