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LJ McCray delivers the performance Florida fans were starting to doubt would come

Florida’s forgotten five-star makes himself felt when the Gators need him most
ByBenjamin Henderson
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Sep 12, 2026; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators defensive lineman LJ McCray (11) celebrates a sack against the Campbell Fighting Camels during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
Sep 12, 2026; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators defensive lineman LJ McCray (11) celebrates a sack against the Campbell Fighting Camels during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

This week, we here at Hail Florida Hail ran a piece titled “Three Florida players whose first halves haven’t matched the offseason expectations.” Among the players we noted was LJ McCray, who has only six total tackles in six games this season.

To be blunt, we had essentially written McCray off as a five-star bust, and that was that.

But college football in 2026 has a funny way of twisting and turning each week, and McCray was a massive cog along the defensive line that enabled Florida to pull off the massive upset over Texas on Saturday.

LJ McCray helps spark a dominant day on defense for Florida

McCray didn’t actually play any more than he has been playing since opening night. After taking 47 snaps against FAU, McCray hadn’t taken more than 21 snaps in a game since. On Satuday, he took 23 snaps.

But he made the most of those 23 snaps as he racked up four total tackles and 1.5 sacks. To give an idea of his career at Florida so far, those 1.5 sacks doubled his career total.

McCray has been an interesting case study because he came in as a five-star and played as a freshman, but his impact was minimal. There was hope for a breakout last year, but he got hurt against USF and missed the 2025 season. Those same breakout storylines filled this past offseason, but the aforementioned lackluster performances dampened them.

After the game, Jon Sumrall made it seem like McCray was among the players who took the beatings from the past two weeks to heart:

“I'd say certain guys have stepped up. I felt LJ McCray last week at the end of the game, and then this week I felt him a lot more.”

If McCray continues this upward ascent, it does unlock possibilities for the defense as a whole. We have not been shy in our critiques of Brad White, but we will credit him for employing a far more aggressive defense on Satuday. The way he and Sumrall phrased it, they tried some blitz packages the past two weeks but claimed guys weren’t rushing the QB with purpose.

Well, we can debate the semantics of that, but it is safe to say the McCray had a purpose on Saturday, and Florida upset Texas as a result.

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