Florida football recruiting: Gators in top-11 for 4-star DL, teammate of target

Florida football recruiting has prioritized in-state talent throughout the 2024 recruiting cycle, specifically Mainland, in Daytona Beach.

The Gators are one of the favorites to land Zavier Mincey, a 4-star safety coming from Mainland, and have also made the top-11 schools for one of Zay’s teammates that plays defense with him.

Yesterday, LJ McCray announced his top-11 schools and the Gators made the cut.

Other schools on the list include UGA, Alabama, LSU, and others.

McCray is somewhat of a polarizing recruit throughout the industry. Rivals has him as the 44th-best DL and the 74th-best player coming out of Florida, while On3 and 247, both have him as a top-15 DL and top-20 player in Florida.

I agree with On3 and 247.

LJ has great size at 6’6”-260 and is able to use that size to dominate opposing linemen to break his way into the backfield.

As Andrew Ivins of 247 Sports says, he “can overwhelm blockers with his initial get-off and sheer size”.

McCray doesn’t lack athleticism either, showing a great ability to move laterally, and flashes good speed in pursuit of ball carriers.

In 2022, LJ totaled 47 tackles, 17.5 of which were for a loss, and three sacks.

He was also effective as a tight end, catching 14 passes for 159 yards and three scores, showing his versatility.

While he has no OV’s scheduled yet, the Gators figure to get one. He’s been to Gainesville three times, which is the most of any school that LJ has seen.

Florida currently leads for LJ on On3’s prediction machine with a 33.9% shot, followed by FSU at 20.1% and Bethune-Cookman, where his father coached for years, at 9%.

There are some big dogs that Billy Napier and the Gators will have to fend off if they want to land McCray.

But they know that landing both McCray and Mincey would give UF’s defensive class a major boost, and will pull out all the stops to secure them both.

Keep up with Florida football recruiting at Hail Florida Hail.