McCray’s father, Michael McCray Sr., played for Ohio State in the late-1980s, and the Buckeyes are one of his son’s top schools.
“My three top choices are Ohio State, Oregon and West Virginia,” the younger McCray said.
McCray currently holds offers from Toledo and Syracuse, but he grew up as a Buckeye fan, goes to most of Ohio State’s home games and is familiar with the program.
“I like the atmosphere, the campus, the coaching staff there,” he said.
McCray did acknowledge that the current situation in Columbus could cause him reason to pause, but not yet.
“A little, but not really,” he said. “Coach Tressel was basically the head man, but they still have the same staff that was there before, so it probably won’t make a big difference.”
McCray admitted he knows little about his other two favorites, but is still interested.
“I really don’t know much about because it’s far. I just know they have a good program,” he said. “I did a project for my school about West Virginia and I found out a lot of information. That’s when I started liking them a lot.”
McCray couldn’t really say what he liked about the Mountaineers from that project, but has been impressed with what he’s seen on the school’s football website.
Notre Dame is fighting to get in the mix and is recruiting McCray as hard as anybody.
“They want me to come to their camp and they like me a lot and want to see me in action,” McCray said of the Irish. “I play baseball in the summer and we’re already going to be in Indiana, so I’m just going to go from baseball to camp.”
That camp could be Notre Dame’s best chance to catch McCray’s interest.
“I don’t really know that much, I know there’s a lot of history,” he said of Notre Dame.
McCray had 57 tackles and three interceptions as a junior to go with 10 receptions and five touchdowns as a tight end for Trotwood-Madison High School. He runs a 4.5 and said coaches are impressed with his blend of size and speed. Coaching staff, academics and campus environment will play a major role in his final decision.
Notre Dame and Ohio State are also recruiting McCray’s teammate, defensive back Cameron Burrows, and the two could wind up being a package deal.
“We’re real close,” McCray said of himself and Burrows. “We’ve talked about going to the same college. We want it to happen, but we have to see what happens.”
