Florida State needed to rebuild the trenches this offseason and more help is on the way after Western Kentucky transfer Deante McCray committed to the Seminoles on Friday night. The 6-foot-4, 283-pound Edge defender could be a hidden gem for FSU like we’ve seen them hit on in the past.
McCray has been highly productive at the G5 level for the past two seasons, and if you’ve listened to any of our podcast episodes, you know that he is exactly the type of player we wanted to see them go after. He has racked up 101 tackles, 6.5 TFL, and 3.5 sacks over the past two seasons. For comparison, McCray had 59 tackles in 2024. Both starting defensive ends (Pat Payton and Marvin Jones Jr.) combined for 60 tackles last season.
McCray should be an asset in stopping the run, something Tony White’s defense excelled at in Nebraska. He racked up 25 run stops last season, which ranks 5th among all FBS defensive ends. McCray also had a superb 3.2% missed tackle percentage and his 84.9 tackling grade ranks top 10 among all edge defenders.
McCray is familiar with operating in a 3-man front with WKU running the 3-3-5. His 76.1 PFF grade was the third highest of all edge defenders in Conference USA and he had solid grades of 63.6 and 68.7 against the two Power 4 teams WKU faced (Alabama and Boston College).
McCray will have 2 years of eligibility remaining. He’ll join recent Nebraska Edge transfer James Williams as the newcomer up front on the defensive side of the ball. The jump from G5 to P4 can be unpredictable, but I like this addition. Good size, proven production, multiple years of eligibility, and is familiar with the style of defense Tony White runs. That all sounds good to me. Thanks for reading and Go Noles!
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