The Philadelphia Stars have sent their first player to the NFL this offseason. DT LaBryan Ray is signing with the Carolina Panthers, after a couple of workouts this past week.
Ray was brought into the Stars organization during the USFL 2023 season, and immediately made an impact on the defensive line. He finished the season with 10 tackles, and three sacks.
Before the USFL, LaBryan Ray played five years at Alabama, racking up 76 tackles and six sacks during that tenure.
Former @AlabamaFTBL DT LaBryan Ray doing work for the @Patriots pic.twitter.com/usOARUXByJ
— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) August 20, 2022
From there, Ray had an opportunity with the New England Patriots, but was eventually released. After joining the practice squad, he was then released from the team entirely in February.
LaBryan Ray eventually made his way to the USFL, and the rest is history. While the Philadelphia Stars missed out on the postseason, Philadelphia’s defense made improvements down the stretch of the season, and Ray played a role in that effort. Now, he joins the Carolina Panthers for training camp, as the 14th USFL player to officially sign with an NFL team.
Had it not been for the platform – and the national exposure – that the USFL provided him with, who knows if this opportunity would have come along.
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