Florida Football Recruiting: LJ McCray wins state title, visits FSU

Florida football fans are in desperate need of some good news this holiday season. The Gators have seen the departure of several key players in the transfer portal, there is still no movement on new position coaches, and multiple personalities on social media are in a borderline civil war.

So, if you are looking for a positive, five-star defensive end, LJ McCray helped lead his Mainland High squad to a state championship yesterday.

He also has visits lined up prior to early signing day to two of Florida’s rivals.

Florida Football: Which way the wind blows

Mainland High knocked off St. Augustine High 21-19 in a thrilling contents for the 3S State Championship. Mainland won the game off a field goal as time expired.

McCray was credited with three assisted tackles but also caused several pressures to make life difficult for St. Augustine.

McCray wore Florida Gator gloves during the game, and when asked about his status regarding Florida, even though the Gators don’t have a defensive line coach at the moment, McCray says he is still “locked in” with Florida.

That locked-in status isn’t stopping McCray from taking an official visit this weekend to FSU and a visit later to Auburn.

It is hard to fault McCray for making sure he covers his bases. He committed to Florida football under the guise that Sean Spencer would be his position coach. While position coaches are prone to change all the time, it is within his right to keep options open if Billy Napier continues to drag his feet on a new hire or if the new hire is someone McCray doesn’t gel with.

Between McCray and safety Xavier Filsaime, Florida has to locked these two players to maintain any credibility that the class of 2024 is going to wind up being more than just DJ Lagway.