The Florida Gators added to the defensive depth of its 2024 recruiting class with its newest recruit, a player who risen to star level in the eyes of many analysts.
LJ McCray, ranked as a four-star player on the 247Sports Composite but No. 6 overall on the 247Sports’ own rankings, announced his commitment to Florida on Saturday. on the recruiting outlet’s YouTube show. He chose Florida over Auburn, Georgia, Miami and Florida State.
While the program got a player ranked four stars, the Gators are hopeful McCray will live up to the expectations of some industry leaders who rank him even higher than that. In addition to 247Sports’ lofty top-10 ranking, On3 ranked him as the No. 8 player in the country and No. 1 defensive lineman.
ESPN has been bullish on McCray, raising him from No. 293 to No. 23 overall in its most recent update for the 2024 cycle.
The only major outlet to have McCray outside the top-25 is Rivals, which has him at No. 249. We will see if he makes a jump in the next update to these rankings.
By getting the commitment of the in-state defensive lineman, Florida got the win not only by nabbing the Mainland High School (Daytona Beach, Fla.) but by keeping him away from the rest of his top five, which consisted of two other programs in Florida and two SEC foes.
other two Florida schools in his top five and two SEC foes.
McCray is the Gators’ 22nd commit in the class of 2024 and third five-tar player, joining quarterback DJ Lagway (ranked No. 16 overall by 247Sports) and cornerback Xavier Filsaime (No. 32 overall). The recruiting class is absolutely stacked on the defensive end, with other four-stay players including linemen Amaris Williams and Nasir Johnson, edge rusher Jamonta Waller, linebackers Myles Graham, Aaron Chiles and Adarius Hayes, and cornerback Wardell Mack.