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…