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Florida EDGE LJ McCray to undergo foot surgery

IMG_6598by: Nick Kosko09/08/25nickkosko59
USATSI_25645439 (1)
[Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]

Florida EDGE rusher LJ McCray will undergo foot surgery Monday, according to GatorsOnline. Keith Niebuhr reported he could be out around six to eight weeks.

McCray left Saturday’s loss to USF in the second half after making his season debut. He initially missed the latter half of Fall camp due to a lower body injury.

McCray played in all 13 games last season for the Gators as a freshman. He finished the year with 13 total tackles, one tackle for loss and 0.5 sacks.

As a member of the Class of 2024, McCray was a five-star recruit out of Daytona Beach (Fla.) Mainland, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking. He was the No. 4 overall prospect in the state, the No. 2 defensive lineman in the class and the No. 10 overall prospect in the class.

“LJ got some experience last year. So it’s time for him to take a big jump. And we need him to,” Florida coach Billy Napier said of McCray at the start of training camp. “And he has position flex at Jack and F. I think he can play both spots. LJ, I think, did a great job of taking the feedback from the weight room and nutrition from the spring semester, really bought in in that regard and changed his body comp. He’s starting to look like a guy who’s ready to play in this league and be a factor.”

At this point, it’s just about staying healthy if you’re McCray. But for now, it’s unknown as to when he’ll be ready to suit up again.

“He’s got a tremendous skill set. Very talented,” Florida defensive coordinator Ron Roberts said of McCray. “You can see the growth, potential what he did. He changed his body and all that stuff, (from) what I see on the field. Sometimes to this point, you can jump ahead, and not trying to put pressure on a player. You want to see them do it in the season. But I would suspect and I’m hoping he has a break-out season and he’s an impact player that we all think he can be. I think he can do that.”

Florida is back in action this weekend against No. 3 LSU. The Gators hit the road Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff.