Florida Gators Secure Commitment From Elite DL LJ McCray

Highly-regarded defensive lineman LJ McCray has pledged himself to the Florida Gators.

Florida may be soaking in the bye week, but the Gators just got another monumental win on the recruiting trail.

Mainland (Fla.) defensive line product LJ McCray shut down his recruitment on Saturday, pledging himself to Florida over Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Miami and others.

McCray, the No. 106 player in the nation and No. 16 defensive lineman per 247Sports Composite, is a highly coveted prospect in the eyes of the Florida staff during the 2024 cycle, occupying the top spot on their positional recruiting board at his defensive end position.

Kirby Smart and rival Georgia Bulldogs regarded the Sunshine State native in a similarly positive light.

The Gators, who long stood in a firm position to earn McCray’s services, held strong in the closing stretch of his recruitment process to fend off strong pitches by the other four members of his final five. 

Notably, in-state rival Florida State earned plenty of buzz regarding their potential move to the top of McCray’s internal rankings ahead of his commitment day.

Florida eventually won out to acquire the Mainland prospect, earning a multifaceted recruiting win by besting several conference and in-state foes for a cornerstone piece on the defensive front.

Possessing the prototypical size at 6-foot-6, 260 pounds and functional athleticism — shown through his usage as a tight end offensively in high school — to shine along the defensive line at the next level, McCray will serve as a major asset to the Gators roster upon his arrival in 2024.

Accounting for 47 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, and three sacks in 2022, he proved to be a disruptive force in the opposing team’s backfield for the Buccaneers as a junior. He's built upon the impressive production with seven sacks, 33 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, two pass breakups and one forced fumble five games into his senior campaign.

His upside as a pass rusher makes him an even greater pull for UF at this stage, providing defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong the flexibility to move him inside or deploy him off the edge based on personnel groupings.

He's attracted to that versatile role, he told All Gators in June following his official visit to Gainesville. 

"I definitely like the versatility of it," he said. "I feel like we talked a lot about the playbook and different schemes and things that I can move around and things like that. I can play both inside and outside." 

Ultimately, it helped lure the Daytona Beach, Fla., product to Gainesville.

McCray is the No. 22 prospect to join the Gators third-ranked 2024 recruiting class. He becomes the highlighting piece of an impressive haul of defensive trench prospects, with Amaris Williams, Nasir Johnson, Jamonta Waller and Kendall Jackson entering the fold prior to McCray.

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