Tag: lj mccray

Florida DL signee named Lineman of Year at All-American Bowl

Florida defensive line signee LJ McCray was honored as the Anthony Muñoz Lineman of the Year at the All-American Bowl on Saturday.

Florida defensive line signee [autotag]LJ McCray[/autotag] was named the Anthony Muñoz Lineman of the Year Award winner at the All-American Bowl on Saturday.

Muñoz is widely regarded as the greatest offensive linemen in football history. The former USC left tackle went third overall in the 1980 NFL draft and spent 13 years with the Cincinnati Bengals before ending his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Muñoz Award is presented annually to the best lineman — offense or defense.

McCray finished his senior season with 77 total tackles (48 solo) and 13 sacks, according to MaxPreps. He won the award over Ohio State defensive lineman Eddrick Houston, Colorado offensive tackle Jordan Seaton, Michigan offensive tackle Andrew Sprague and Auburn defensive lineman Amaris Williams.

McCray is a five-star prospect, according to the On3 industry ranking, which uses a weighted average of all four major recruiting services. He checks in at No. 23 overall in the class of 2024 and is ranked fourth among defensive linemen in the class.

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After early scare Gators sign 5-star defensive lineman to LOI

Despite reports that he would hold off on signing, five-star defensive lineman LJ McCray has sent in his national letter of intent to Florida.

Florida has signed elite defensive lineman [autotag]LJ McCray[/autotag] on Wednesday despite reports that he would hold out.

McCray is the defensive crown jewel of the class, especially with five-star safety Xavier Filsaime flipping to Texas. He appeared locked in with the Gators for months, but the firing of defensive line coach Sean Spencer put his status into question with the early signing period looming.

Both Auburn and Florida State made strong pushes for McCray, and reports surfaced earlier Wednesday that he would not be sign immediately. Given the reports, locking up McCray is a massive win for Billy Napier and Co.

Florida still needs to hire a defensive coordinator, but the job should be easy to fill with McCray in tow.

There’s a real chance for McCray to make an immediate impact in Gainesville. He can afford to put on more weight at 6 feet, 6 inches and 260 pounds, which will make him bigger than most SEC offensive linemen. The ceiling is high here, but Florida needs to have the right coach develop him into the best pass rusher he can be.

McCray is ranked No. 35 overall and No. 8 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite. The On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 23 and 4, respectively.

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Gators’ 5-star DL commit might not sign on Wednesday

This is the kind of news that makes the Gator Nation very uneasy.

The Gator Nation got some bad news on Wednesday during the morning rush of the early signing period when On3 reported that five-star defensive lineman [autotag]LJ McCray[/autotag] might not sign on the opening day.

The 6-foot-6-inch, 275-pound defender out of Bradenton (Florida) IMG Academy told Hayes Fawcett that there is a “high possibility” he will no longer sign today.

Prior to the report, there had been no indication of McCray wavering on his commitment. He did make trips to see the Florida State Seminoles and Auburn Tigers in recent weeks, but nothing significant appeared to come out of those visits at the time.

Florida fans have been on pins and needles of late, having seen several top recruits decommit or flip. Four blue-chip prospects have abandoned the Orange and Blue over the past month, including five-star safety Xavier Filsaime who flipped to the Texas Longhorns on Monday.

McCray is ranked No. 35 overall and No. 8 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 23 and 4, respectively.

UPDATE: After early scare Gators sign 5-star defensive lineman to LOI

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Tracking Florida’s class of 2024 early signing period additions

The 2024 early signing period is upon us, and Florida plans to sign the majority of its recruiting class over the next three days.

The early signing period for the class of 2024 kicked off on Wednesday and Gator Nation prepped itself for a big day.

Nineteen players who have pledged are set to sign their national letters of intent to the University of Florida, although a few surprises could be in store. Flips going both ways are expected, but Florida appears primed to sign a top-10 class when all is said and done.

The signing period lasts until Friday. Most of the nation’s top players will be locked in by the end of the day, but there is another signing period in February.

Here’s a look at which class of 2024 players signed with Florida during the early signing period.

Auburn commit Jamonta Waller ‘working hard’ to flip Five-star LJ McCray

Waller says that he wants to be on the same field as McCray.

[autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] isn’t the only Auburn man working the recruiting trail this offseason.

Four-star EDGE commit [autotag]Jamonta Waller[/autotag] is reportedly “working hard” to flip 5-star Florida defensive lineman commit [autotag]LJ McCray[/autotag] to the Tigers according to On3.

The Daytona Beach, Florida native McCray took a visit to the Plains after visiting Florida State last week, showing he is weighing his options heavily ahead of National Signing Day in February.

The 5-star recruit is a wrecking ball of an athlete. Standing at 6-foot-6 and weighing in around 260 pounds, McCray collected 17.5 tackles for loss in his senior season at Mainland High School in Daytona Beach.

His presence would be immediately felt on an Auburn interior defensive line that struggled to pressure the quarterback outside of [autotag]Marcus Harris[/autotag].

Waller took it one step further, describing how he and McCray would create “magic” on the same defensive front.

“I just want us to be on the same field together, man,” Waller said. “They can’t block both of us. It’s just magic what it could be.”

Whether the two highly-touted recruits would create magic remains to be seen, but Auburn’s staff will certainly be hoping to fill another hole with a flipped-5-star recruit.

[autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and company did it just a few weeks ago with wide receiver [autotag]Cam Coleman[/autotag]. We’ll see if they capture strike lighting in a bottle twice by flipping McCray.

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Four-star defensive lineman LJ McCray to visit Auburn

He is one of Auburn’s top remaining targets in the 2024 recruiting cycle.

Auburn missed out on four-star defensive lineman [autotag]LJ McCray[/autotag] when he announced his commitment to the Florida Gators back in October but they have not stopped recruiting him.

That decision is paying off as he announced to a group of reporters on Thursday that he would be taking a visit to Auburn this weekend.

“Those guys have not faded since the commitment,” he said. “Coach (Jeremy) Garrett has been in there day one since I got the offer. I have a pretty good relationship with him.”

McCray is the No. 54 overall player and No. 10 defensive lineman in the 247Sports composite. The Daytona Beach native is also the No. 9 player from Florida.

Auburn’s 2024 recruiting class is nearly complete but McCray is one of several elite prospects that [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and Co. are trying to flip ahead of the early signing period. The Tigers have already pried four-star edge rusher [autotag]Jamonta Waller[/autotag] away from Florida and are also pursuing [autotag]Amaris Williams[/autotag], another four-star defensive lineman currently pledged to the Gators.

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Five-star Florida defensive lineman commit talks coaching changes

Despite some coaching changes that directly affect him, Florida five-star defensive lineman commit LJ McCray says he’s still locked in.

Florida has lost several defensive linemen to the transfer portal and in the recruiting game following the dismissal of position coach Sean “Chaos” Spencer, but the Gators recently got some reassurance that a crucial piece of the recruiting class should stay put.

On Friday, five-star Mainland defensive lineman LJ McCray spoke to Gators Online’s Corey Bender and said that Spencer’s departure hasn’t changed his mind about Florida.

Right now, McCray is focused on winning a state title. He admitted to Bender that he hadn’t even had time to think about Spencer’s dismissal, but that’s more about being locked in on the playoff push.

“I’m glad I can compartmentalize and make sure the main goal is the main goal,” McCray said. “Really, that’s where my head has been. I’m trying to win states. Even with the coaching change, I’ve been locked in. I got a goal in mind.”

The good news is that outside linebackers coach Mike Peterson will likely serve as McCray’s position coach, so losing Spencer is more like losing a secondary coach with a large amount of influence. He’s close with most of the staff, though. Defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong was out to see his state semifinal game last week.

McCray is a five-star recruit ranked inside the top 10, according to both 247Sports and On3, but ESPN and Rivals have him listed as a four-star talent. Rivals has him as low as No. 250 nationally while ESPN has him inside the top 25.

The On3 industry ranking, which uses a weighted average of all four major services, puts McCray at No. 27 overall and No. 4 among defensive linemen in the class of 2024.

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Florida’s recent 5-star DL commit has one of ESPN’s top highlights

ESPN’s Blake Baumgartner put together his five top plays from the prep ranks last week and included McCray and his standout performance.

Florida football scored a huge coup on the recruiting trail last weekend when five-star defensive lineman [autotag]LJ McCray[/autotag] committed to Billy Napier and the Gators.

ESPN’s Blake Baumgartner put together his five top plays from the prep ranks last week and included a pair of Gators commits, led off by McCray and his standout performance for Daytona Beach (Florida) Mainland.

“McCray, the No. 23 overall prospect in the 2024 class, is hours away from coming off the board, with the sixth-best defensive end in the cycle planning to announce his commitment Saturday afternoon,” Baumgartner noted.

“With Georgia, Florida State, Florida, Miami and Auburn all in play for McCray’s commitment, he helped Mainland High School’s (Florida) 22-0 win against Osceola High School (Florida) on Thursday. Led by McCray, the Buccaneers’ defense hasn’t been scored upon since Sept. 22 as the team has pitched three straight shutouts.”

McCray is rated four stars and ranked No. 107 overall and No. 17 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite. The On3 industry ranking has him rated at five stars and ranked at Nos. 25 and 5, respectively.

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LJ McCray, one of top DLs in 2024, commits to Florida

The Florida Gators football team got the commitment of LJ McCray, ranked by most recruiting sites as a top-25 DL in the class of 2024.

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.

Twitter reacts to Florida football’s 5-star DE commitment

Take a look at the collective reaction to Florida’s massive coup on the recruiting front on Saturday. 

Five-star defensive lineman LJ McCray committed to the Orange and Blue over Georgia, Florida State and Miami, among others, on Saturday, adding to an already impressive 2024 recruiting class put together by second-year head coach Billy Napier.

While the Gators are still well in the midst of a rebuild, the addition of the 6-foot-6-inch, 260-pound defender is a huge get for a program that has fallen behind its Southeastern Conference peers in recent years.

McCray is rated four stars and ranked No. 106 overall and No. 16 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite. The On3 industry ranking has him rated at five stars and ranked at Nos. 24 and 4, respectively.

Take a look below at the collective reaction on Twitter by both the team and the Gator Nation at large to Florida’s massive coup on the recruiting front on Saturday.