5-Star DL Prospect LJ McCray Commits to Florida Over Georgia, Florida State, More

Five-star defensive lineman LJ McCray has committed to the Florida Gators, he announced Saturday, per Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports.

McCray chose Florida over Auburn, Florida State, Georgia and Miami.

"My family left it up to me. We had a lot talks about this and that," McCray said. "Really where my gut was telling me to go and where I wanted to be."

McCray is a 6'6", 260-pound defensive line prospect out of Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Florida. He's one of the top defensive line prospects in the class of 2024 alongside Missouri commit Williams Nwaneri and Ohio State commit Justin Scott.

247Sports director of scouting Andrew Ivins wrote of McCray:

"Must keep progressing after being utilized heavily as a tight end during freshman and sophomore seasons, but should be viewed as one of the top overall prospects in the 2024 cycle given his enormous ceiling. Will likely need a developmental year or two before he's ready for a full-time starting role, but could be deployed early on in collegiate career as a situational defender. Bonafide NFL upside as his best football looks to be well ahead of him."

Florida boasts the No. 3-ranked recruiting class in 2024. In addition to McCray, the Gators have landed commitments from five-stars in quarterback DJ Lagway and cornerback Xavier Filsaime.

The only two teams with better recruiting classes for 2024 are the Georgia Bulldogs and Ohio State Buckeyes.

When Billy Napier took the job as head coach of the Gators in 2022, there was an expectation that he would restore Florida as one of the best college football programs in the country.

Bringing the program back to prominence starts with recruiting, and Napier has done a solid job in that regard since landing the head coaching gig.

"I wouldn't say there is a limit," McCray said when talking about the Gators potential. "I feel that way. I've been around them and the guys they bring around the program and I feel like they have the ability to do it (win a National Championship) with the plan they have and the guys they have right there and the aura around the program."

The Gators are currently second in the SEC East this season with a 5-2 record and they are 4-0 at home. They've defeated the likes of No. 17 Tennessee and South Carolina to retain a spot atop the standings.

Things are certainly looking up for the program, and maybe the Gators will return to being among the SEC's elite in the near future.