FSU football: Blue-chip DL LJ McCray lists FSU in top 5 schools

FSU football has one defensive line commit in its 2024 recruiting class, three-star Jamorie Flagg.

FSU has a handful of targets remaining on its board and will need to hit on 1-2 more, with FSU losing the likes of Fabien Lovett, Braden Fiske, and potentially Joshua Farmer and Darrell Jackson after the 2023 season.

One of their top targets is four-star defensive lineman LJ McCray, who announced FSU as part of his top five schools list Friday afternoon:

McCray spoke with On3’s Chad Simmons about each school:

"“They are coming off a strong season last year and they have some momentum. They were one of the first Power 5 schools to push for me after performing at their camp, so they have been on me for a long time. The staff is always on me. Coach Adam Fuller, Coach JP (John Papuchis), Coach Odell Haggins and all of them – I just have great relationships there. They have a great understanding of me and who I am. They know how to recruit me and I am not one of those call-every-day type of guys. The Florida State coaches want me to come to be part of the Nole family.”"

One of the most important details in McCray’s recruitment is how many times he’s visited Florida and Florida State. McCray has already conducted his official visits to every school on this list except FSU football. He has set that official date for October 7, which is the weekend FSU hosts Virginia Tech(and should win convincingly).

I think it comes down to FSU and Florida State, and how the season goes for each team could dictate his decision. FSU has a large need for defensive linemen the caliber of LJ McCray, as they only signed one high school defensive tackle in last year’s recruiting cycle. McCray ranks as the No. 107 player and the No. 15 defensive lineman.

He ranks as the No. 17 player in the Sunshine State and lists at 6’6″ and 260 pounds. FSU football was the first school in Florida to offer McCray a month before Florida, and Miami didn’t offer McCray until February 2023.

FSU expects to be the best team in the state this season by a good margin. They are nearly 17-point betting favorites over Miami and nearly 10-point betting favorites over Florida. I wonder if FSU can get him to officially visit before his official visit in October. If they can, or whoever can continue to get him on campus between now and then will likely be the school to beat.