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Daytona Beach (Florida) Mainland coach Travis Roland isn't shy when asked who Lawal "LJ" McCray reminds him of. “I think he has that freakish Jevon Kearse length, size and speed,” Roland said. “He's a super flexible athlete. His bend is amazing. He puts in a lot of effort. You don’t see many guys at 6-7 that can get in a low-aggressive stance like him. You should see him in DB drills – the fluidity is amazing.” It's a good thing when your high school coach compares you to an NFL Hall of Famer. But it's easy to see why he earned such high praise. McCray never came off the field during his time at Mainland, playing defensive line, receiver, tight end and even H-back. He racked up 47 tackles, 17.5 tackles for a loss and three sacks while recording 14 catches for two scores in 2022. "He just takes over the game," Roland said. McCray's father, Lawal, is a former successful high school coach who has spent more than a decade coaching in the college ranks at Bethune-Cookman. In fact, it was his father that helped turn him on to football in the first place. “I always told him, I’m not going to ask you to work out,” Lawal told 247Sports. "You can come ask me all you want, and we’ll go work out. There were many days I was watching my westerns on TV after long hours at work and he’d say, ‘Daddy let’s go to the field. Let’s go lift weights.' He’s been very determined since the sixth or seventh grade. He wants to be the best at what he does.”

LJ McCray

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Florida Gators

Defensive Line

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- During spring camp, Florida co-defensive coordinator Ron Roberts said five-star signee LJ McCray had “already done enough” to

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Gators Online Football

‘A promising future’: LJ McCray played with UF starters in spring game

Billy Napier | 2024 Florida Gators Spring Game

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- After months of pursuing five-star LJ McCray, a top-10 overall prospect, Ron Roberts is now one of his coaches. Of course,

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Gators Co-DC Ron Roberts thinks LJ McCray will be a ‘tremendous’ player

Ron Roberts | Florida Co-DC

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators are just three weeks away from starting spring football. The team completed the first stage of the offseason

LJ McCray: Florida Gators class of '24 Early Enrollee Introduction

The second National Signing Day of the 2024 cycle is here, but for the Gators, their class has pretty much been in place since early January.

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Gators Online Football Recruiting

5 Gators newcomers to make biggest impact in Year 1

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The majority of top prospects in the 2024 cycle put pen to paper in the Early Signing Period, signing National Letters of Intent with college

Impact AFI

2024 signees primed to make an instant impact

With the February version of National Signing Day taking place Wednesday, it's a good time to hand out grades for the Florida Gators' high

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National Signing Day Overview: Grading the Florida Gators' class

On3 has released its final recruiting ranking for the 2024 class. This final update comes after the end of the high school playoffs and postseason

Top 10 DL final On300

On3 Football Recruiting

Top 10 defensive linemen in the final 2024 On300 rankings

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — With the transfer portal mostly and Early National Signing Day out of the way, have the Florida Gators been able

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Florida Gators EDGE: Is it better in 2024?

Following On3's release of the final 2024 On300 in addition to rankings updates from other recruiting services, the On3 Industry Ranking has updated.

Jeremiah Smith, Ellis Robinson and DJ Lagway

The 5-star recruits in the final 2024 On3 Industry Ranking

Florida's 2024 recruiting class was put through the wringer down the stretch, but Billy Napier and the Gators made do.  Despite falling to No. 11 in

DJ Lagway - Florida

Florida Gators Football Recruiting

Florida bringing in pair of monster prospects in QB DJ Lagway and DL LJ McCray

Charles Power On Florida's Signees Dj Lagway And Lj Mccray | 01.29.24

The final batch of 2024 On300 rankings were released on Monday, with nearly half of the Gators' class having made the cut.  It starts with 5-star

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Twelve Gators signees land in final On300 rankings

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On3 is currently releasing its final 5-star prospects ahead of Monday's 2024 On300 rankings release.  Moments ago, Daytona Beach (Fla.) Mainland

Gators signee LJ McCray finishes as On3's No. 1 defensive lineman

On3 has released its final recruiting ranking for the 2024 class after the completion of the high school football season and all-star competitions.

On3 5-Star Countdown: No. 6, Florida DL signee LJ McCray

Final On3 2024 5-star Rankings 13 Newly Minted 5-stars!! New No. 1 Qb | Inside Scoop

Another Florida Gators signee has won a prestigious national award. Friday evening, 5-star edge LJ McCray of Daytona Beach (Fla.) Mainland was named

Gators signee LJ McCray wins prestigious national award

When the dust settled and National Signing Day had finally come to a close on Dec. 20, Florida Gators coach Billy Napier was asked about the impact

5-star Gators signee LJ McCray 'is an alpha'

Less than a week ago, the Gators welcomed 22 players into the program for National Signing Day.  Transfer portal is the biggest priority right now

LJ McCray 

Gators' five biggest 2024 recruiting wins

National Signing Day: Miami Hurricanes, Florida State Seminoles, Florida Gators | How Did They Do?

Between the Under Armour All-America Game and All-American Bowl, the Gators will be represented in Orlando and San Antonio, respectively.  There

Gators signees participating in All-American games

For the Gators, National Signing Day is now in the rear-view mirror.  Twenty-two prospects signed on Wednesday, and although prospects can also sign

Two Gators signees On3 expects to make immediate impact

Another singing day has come and gone and this year Billy Napier and the Gators signed 22 prospects, including transfers. Overall, the class

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Amidst all the uncertainty surrounding Florida football recruiting, Billy Napier and the Gators locked down their two highest-ranked commits — Willis

LJ McCray, Zay Mincey

Florida 5-star DL signee LJ McCray starts hashtag to recruit teammate, 4-star CB Zay Mincey

On Wednesday, Billy Napier and the Gators signed 22 prospects for National Signing Day.  Highlighting that group are 5-star quarterback DJ Lagway and

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Corey's Superlatives for Gators' 2024 signees

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators currently have the No. 16 class in the country. While Florida lost eight commitments since November, the

National Signing Day: Gators who can make an instant impact

The Gators hit the jackpot on Wednesday, as On3's No. 1-ranked defensive lineman LJ McCray signed with Florida on National Signing Day.  Yes, the

Why Gators fans should be stoked about 5-star signee LJ McCray

Daytona Beach (Fla.) Mainland five-star defensive lineman and Florida commit LJ McCray has signed with the Gators.   McCray committed to

5-star DL LJ McCray signs with Florida over Florida State and Auburn

On3's No. 1-ranked defensive lineman LJ McCray says his recruitment is all wrapped up, as the Daytona Beach native announced on National Signing Day

Five-star DL LJ McCray signs with Florida Gators

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LJ McCray

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2024

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Daytona Beach, FL

‘A promising future’: LJ McCray played with UF starters in spring game

Gators Co-DC Ron Roberts thinks LJ McCray will be a ‘tremendous’ player

LJ McCray: Florida Gators class of '24 Early Enrollee Introduction

5 Gators newcomers to make biggest impact in Year 1

2024 signees primed to make an instant impact

National Signing Day Overview: Grading the Florida Gators' class

Top 10 defensive linemen in the final 2024 On300 rankings

Florida Gators EDGE: Is it better in 2024?

The 5-star recruits in the final 2024 On3 Industry Ranking

Florida bringing in pair of monster prospects in QB DJ Lagway and DL LJ McCray

Twelve Gators signees land in final On300 rankings

Gators signee LJ McCray finishes as On3's No. 1 defensive lineman

On3 5-Star Countdown: No. 6, Florida DL signee LJ McCray

Gators signee LJ McCray wins prestigious national award

5-star Gators signee LJ McCray 'is an alpha'

Gators' five biggest 2024 recruiting wins

Gators signees participating in All-American games

Two Gators signees On3 expects to make immediate impact

Keith's Florida Gators recruiting class superlatives

Florida 5-star DL signee LJ McCray starts hashtag to recruit teammate, 4-star CB Zay Mincey

Corey's Superlatives for Gators' 2024 signees

National Signing Day: Gators who can make an instant impact

Why Gators fans should be stoked about 5-star signee LJ McCray

5-star DL LJ McCray signs with Florida over Florida State and Auburn

Five-star DL LJ McCray signs with Florida Gators