SI All-American Candidate Joshua McCray Highlights and Evaluation
Prospect: RB Joshua McCray
Projected Position: Running Back
Status: SI All-American Candidate
Vitals: 6-foot, 205 pounds
School: Enterprise (Ala.)
Schools of Interest: Ole Miss, South Carolina, Kentucky and Arkansas, among others.
Frame: Good upper-body definition with thick chest, solid arm length and big hands. Strong lower half with big thighs, bubble and strong calves.
Athleticism: Rugged runner with solid athleticism and movement skills. Build-up speed type who can crash with tilt downhill. Strong to bang inside with good contact balance to drag tacklers. Solid ability to execute a single cut and go. Can punch through the second level if he’s allowed to get his lower-half churning.
Instincts: Standard vision and run instincts. Discipline to execute original run concepts and acquire standard 4-yards. Has fair feel to cut off pull and trap blocks. Flashes some open field creativity and will leap over knife tacklers in space. Has good ball skills from pass-game participation as a slot and perimeter receiver.
Polish: Plays in a wing-concept offense with a heavy emphasis on misdirection, pulls and traps, along with screen action. Jet-sweep man from slot, where he also runs a corner route. Runs verts and fades when aligned as a traditional perimeter receiver. Average quickness to and through alleys, where he also needs to improve pad-level consistency. Has to gather to cut at times.
Bottom Line: McCray is a big back who has a bit of an old school feel to his run style. His size and strength make him a candidate to work as a 3-down runner, as he can factor in the screen game. McCray also has solid ball skills from his experience as a receiver.