Shane Ray On His Mom: 'I Owe Her For Making Me Who I Am Today'

DENVER (CBS4)- The Denver Broncos first-round selection Shane Ray says he owes everything he has to his mother. His mother, Sebrina Johnson, says Shane made his dreams happen.

"They used to call my neighborhood the murder factory," said Shane. "At the time when I was growing up in Kansas City... Kansas City was the number one city in murder rates."

Shane experienced a lot of violence at an early age while growing up in Kansas City, Mo.

"I've seen drive bys happen, I've seen dead bodies, I've seen the drugs and violence. I mean, I witnessed that and you know, my mom, being a single parent, just being as strong as she was, every time it looked like I was going to fall in, she had the right people and herself there to help me out and help shape me and keep me away from those things. I'm so grateful to my mother," said Shane.

Sebrina Johnson, a single mother, was at his side every step of the way.

"Some kids, dreams happen. They fall into it and they have skill sets. Shane made his dream happen," said Sebrina.

PHOTO GALLERY: Shane Ray 

"You know, everything I've been through in life, has given me a learning opportunity and the chance to make myself better and continue to grow as a person," said Shane. "I don't back down from adversity when it hits. I keep my head up and that's because of how my mom raised me. I owe her for making me who I am today."

He's speaking about his citation for possession of pot last week, just three days before the draft. A state trooper in Missouri found a small amount of marijuana in his car after pulling him over for speeding.

It not only hurt Shane's draft status, it hurt Sebrina even more.

"I was devastated. Because, you know, I've always been very active in Shane's life. We've been very close and he's never gotten in trouble before. He has no history with any issues, all he wanted to do was play sports. I mean, never any issues and then to one day, have an issue of this magnitude, it was devastating. How could you put yourself in that position when you worked so hard to be here?," said Sebrina.

"My mom backed me and supported me and told me that we were going to face this and not run from it," said Shane.

RELATED STORIES: More Broncos Stories

"I said, 'You're going to be a man. You're going to own up to your mistake, and we're going to face it. We're going to the draft. You're going to look and you're going to answer the questions.' Of course he couldn't go into detail because it's a legal issue but we're going to face it and we're going to be here. You've worked for this all your life," said Sebrina.

Shane's not the first member of the family to play in the league. His father, Wendall Ray, was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in 1981. His father left when Shane was two years old.

When asked about Shane's relationship with his father, he replied, "I think it's a day-to-day thing. Just trying to rebuild that kind of relationship and just seeing where it goes and with those kinds of situations you really don't know what you're going to be guaranteed with and how it's going to develop but for me I'm just trying to make the best of it and I think right now we're okay."

When asked about being passed over until the Broncos traded up to draft Ray at No. 23, Shane replied, "There are 22 teams. A couple of them really burnt into me but there are 22 teams that passed on me but the Broncos didn't."

Before his citation, Shane was considered a top-15 talent.

Ray finished off his final season with the University of Missouri Tigers in grand fashion, breaking the school's single-season sack record with 14 1-2. For that, he was named the SEC's defensive player of the year.