Some sad news late this morning from the college football world. Iowa State defensive line coach Curtis Bray has passed away at the age of 43. Ames Tribune was the first to report the news, but Iowa State confirmed the news Wednesday morning via Twitter.
Bray is a former USA Today high school All-American and was the first defensive player to win the Gatorade National High school Player of the Year Award in 1987. He went on to become a model player for the Pittsburgh Panthers by starting in his first game as a freshman. In his college career he recorded 170 total tackles. When he was not drafted in to the NFL, in part due to injury concerns in his later college playing days, Bray quickly turned to coaching as a profession. In 1993 he joined the coaching staff at Duquesne, where he handled special teams and linebacker duties in addition to defensive coordinator responsibilities. His coaching track included stops at Western Kentucky and Villanova before returning to his alma mater. Bray served three seasons coaching defensive ends and three more coaching the linebackers. Prior to joining Iowa State’s staff in 2009, Bray spent two seasons at Temple as the linebackers coach.We lost a great man today in Coach Bray. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. #Cyclones pic.twitter.com/PuA96HqU9V
— Cyclone Football (@CycloneFB) January 15, 2014
Photo: Iowa State Athletics