Bray heads north to continue career

Published 12:16 am Wednesday, June 12, 2019

By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

He’s still chasing the dream.

Quan Bray isn’t on an NFL roster, but that doesn’t mean his quest to be a successful professional football player is over.

Bray, the former Callaway and Troup standout who spent three seasons in the NFL and also had a brief stint in the now defunct Alliance of American Football, has headed north to continue his career.

Bray has joined the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, and the team will open its season on June 14 against Edmonton.

Bray showed what he can do in a preseason game last week when he caught two passes for 75 yards, and he had a 48-yard scoring reception.

Bray also returned a punt for 11 yards, and a kickoff for 18 yards.

Bray has been a difference-maker on every level so far, from high school, to college, to the pros, and he’s poised to make a major impact in Canada.

“My biggest asset is being a playmaker, bringing some energy,” Bray said last week while meeting with media members in Montreal. “I’m an all-purpose back and I can help in a lot of ways.”

Bray, after an exceptional collegiate career at Auburn, played for the Indianapolis Colts from 2015 to 2017.

While Bray did catch a handful of passes, he was primarily a kick returner, and he excelled in that role.

After his time with the Colts ended, Bray signed with the Buffalo Bills and the Houston Texans, but he didn’t appear in a regular-season game for either team.

Bray’s next stop was with the Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football, but that league was short-lived.

The season wasn’t even half-way over when the league folded, leaving hundreds of players looking for a new football home.

Some of the players landed with NFL teams, while others, like Bray, looked to Canada.

Bray, and the other first-time CFL players, are getting a crash course in the changes between the game in Canada, and American football.

“It’s the same game in a sense, but it’s a different game,” said Bray. “I get running starts as a receiver and on special teams, you have to catch the ball, there’s no fair catch. I like the bigger field. You can use your speed a little more to get around to the edges. There’s a lot of field and if you can make one (defensive back) miss, it’s off to the races. Our quarterbacks have done a great job on the deep balls, getting enough air under the ball to let us run underneath them and make plays.”

Making plays is nothing new for Bray.

Bray was a three-year starter and an all-state quarterback at Callaway, and he had a big senior season after transferring to Troup.

Bray’s next stop was Auburn, and he was an impact player as a receiver and kick returner for four seasons.

Bray wasn’t drafted, but he signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent.

From 2015 to 2017 Bray played in 24 games, and he returned 45 punts for 314 yards, and 48 kick-offs for 1,231 yards.

Bray, while making sure to stay in top physical form, has also found time to write a book.

Bray’s book, “Keep the Dream Alive,” was released on May 19 and is available at Amazon.com.

The book details not only Bray’s football journey, but the personal tragedy he and his family experienced.

Following Bray’s senior season at Troup and before he started at Auburn, his mother Tonya Bray was shot and killed in the summer of 2011.

“I know I could have easily given up, but I knew my mother would want me to keep working,” Bray said last week. “What happened was a tragedy, but things happen for a reason.”

Bray knew he had to remain strong not just for himself, but to set an example for his then 10-year-old brother Jymere Jones, who is now a senior receiver at Callaway.

“He’s going into his final year of high school and it gives me chills to see how he’s grown,” Bray said.

Bray added that his book is about “being passionate about whatever you do and never letting the dream die.”