Mike McCray

Mike McCray II
Michigan Wolverines No. 9
Position Linebacker
Class Junior
Career history
College
High school Trotwood-Madison (Trotwood, OH)
Personal information
Date of birth (1994-08-03) August 3, 1994
Height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight 239 lb (108 kg)
Career highlights and awards

Michael Juey "Mike" McCray II (born August 3, 1994) is an American football linebacker for the Michigan Wolverines for the 2016 team. He was a 2013 Under Armour All-America Game selection in high school and earned Associated Press (AP) Division II All-Ohio first team and AP Division II Ohio Defensive Player of the Year honors at Trotwood-Madison High School as a senior in 2012 under head coach Maurice Douglass. His father is Mike McCray, Sr. who was a captain for the 1988 Ohio State Buckeyes. He is sometimes referred to as Big Play McCray.

Early life

When McCray was young, he played basketball and baseball. He first played organized football in sixth grade. After two years of football, he went back to basketball and baseball before resuming football in high school.[1] Dubbed "Big Play McCray",[2] he played football at Trotwood-Madison High School for coach Maurice Douglass. As a junior in 2011, he totaled 460 yards on 28 catches and nine touchdowns and totaled 86 tackles with five interceptions and three defensive touchdowns. As a senior in 2012, he caught 19 passes for 369 yards and four scores and tallied 121 tackles with 2.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and two interceptions. He was recognized as a Associated Press (AP) Division II All-Ohio first team and AP Division II Ohio Defensive Player of the Year selection in 2012.[3] Although he was expected by some to follow his father to Ohio State, he attended the first night game at Michigan Stadium on September 10, 2011 wearing a Michigan hat.[1] McCray was part of a team that included several highly touted recruits.[4] McCray became a news subject when he committed to Michigan in March 2012 and was the subject of a tweet by then-current Michigan football player Roy Roundtree (a Trotwood alum) prior to signing, which was a minor NCAA violation.[5][6] Toward the end of his 2011–12 junior year, he was rumored to have an offer from Ohio State.[7] Ohio State never did offer McCray.[8] McCray was a selection for the January 4, 2013 Under Armour All-American Game, but was unable to participate in the game while he was recovering from surgery on his left labrum.[9] After leading Trotwood to a 15–0 Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II championship 2011 season, he committed to Michigan on March 6, 2012 over offers that included Oklahoma, Tennessee, Illinois, Purdue.[10]

College

At Michigan, he saw no gametime action for either the 2013 or 2015 Wolverines. He played in 11 games for the 2014 team, accumulating two tackles (one for a loss) and one blocked punt.[11] As a redshirt freshman, he blocked a punt that was returned for a touchdown in his first game on opening day against Appalachian State.[12] He was a standout in the 2016 Spring game.[2][13] He missed the entire 2015 season due to assorted injuries, including shoulder issues.[14] Following the 2015 season, Michigan lost all three of its starting linebackers to graduation.[15] In his first career start for the 2016 Wolverines, McCray tackled Diocemy Saint Juste for a loss during the first series of the game against Hawaii.[14] He ended up totaling 9 tackles (including 3.5 for a loss and 2 sacks), earning Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Week in his first start.[16][17] Following the season, McCray was an honorable mention All-Big Ten defensive selection by both the coaches and the media.[18][19]

References

  1. 1 2 Shanker, Jared (2011-10-04). "Mike McCray II just like his dad -- sort of". ESPN. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  2. 1 2 Kornacki, Steve (2016-04-05). "Kornacki: 'Big Play' McCray Raring To Go". MGoBlue.com. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  3. ↑ "Bios for 2013 Michigan Football Signee". MGoBlue.com. 2013-02-06. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  4. ↑ Znidar, Mark (2012-11-23). "Tonight's high-school football playoff games". Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2016-09-11.
  5. ↑ Taylor, John (2012-03-06). "Michigan player latest to commit NCAA no-no on Twitter?". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  6. ↑ Meinke, Kyle (2012-03-06). "Michigan football team alerts compliance department after receiver Roy Roundtree commits possible minor NCAA violation". The Ann Arbor News. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  7. ↑ Meinke, Kyle (2012-05-25). "Michigan football commit Mike McCray, son of former Ohio State captain, receives offer from Buckeyes". The Ann Arbor News. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  8. ↑ Rabinowitz, Bill (2013-11-29). "Ohio State, Michigan tangle over Ohio talent". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  9. ↑ Sherman, Mitch (2012-12-31). "Shoulder injury sidelines U-M commit". ESPN. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  10. ↑ Spiewak, Stephen (2012-03-06). "Trotwood-Madison (Ohio) linebacker Mike McCray commits to Michigan". MaxPreps. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  11. ↑ "Mike McCray 9". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  12. ↑ "Michigan Takes On Notre Dame In Road Opener". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. 2014-09-03. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  13. ↑ Broome, Anthony (2016-04-04). "Maize-N-Brew: Identifying possible standouts after U-M's spring game". USA Today. Retrieved 2016-09-11.
  14. 1 2 Snyder, Mark (2016-09-05). "Michigan football: Linebacker Mike McCray has big return after injuries". NCAA. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  15. ↑ Snyder, Mark (2016-03-10). "Prized 2013 Michigan recruit LB Mike McCray back in the running". USA Today. Retrieved 2016-09-11.
  16. ↑ "Big Ten Football Players of the Week: Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State and Wisconsin standouts claim honors". BigTen.org. CBS Interactive. 2016-09-05. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  17. ↑ "Awards and Honors: McCray Top B1G Defender of the Week". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. 2014-09-05. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  18. ↑ "2016 Big Ten Individual Award Winners" (PDF). CSTV.com. 2016-11-30. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  19. ↑ "Peppers, Lewis Lead All 11 Defenders Honored by B1G". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. 2016-11-29. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
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