Mike McCray explained

Mike McCray II
Current Team:Massachusetts Minutemen
Birth Date:3 August 1994
Birth Place:Dayton, Ohio
High School:Trotwood-Madison (Trotwood, OH)
College:Michigan
Undraftedyear:2018
Statleague:NFL
Position:Outside linebackers coach
Pastcoaching:
  • Michigan (2016)
    Recruiting coordinator
  • Michigan (2018)
    Intern
  • Michigan (2019-2020)
    Defensive analyst
  • Notre Dame (2021)
    Graduate assistant
  • UMass (2022-present)
    Outside linebackers coach

Michael Juey McCray II (born August 3, 1994) is a former American football linebacker. He is currently the outside linebackers coach at the University of Massachusetts.[1]

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. Dubbed "Big Play McCray",[2] he played football at Trotwood-Madison High School for coach Maurice Douglass. As a junior in 2011, he gained 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 made a total of 121 tackles with 2.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and two interceptions. He was recognized as an 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.[4] McCray was part of a team that included several highly touted recruits.[5] 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.[6] [7] Toward the end of his 2011–12 junior year, he was rumored to have an offer from Ohio State.[8] Ohio State never did offer McCray.[9] 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.[10] 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, and Purdue.[11]

College career

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.[12] As a redshirt freshman, he blocked a punt that was returned for a touchdown in his first game on opening day against Appalachian State.[13] That season he played under defensive coordinator Greg Mattison and head coach Brady Hoke. Following his redshirt season for the 2014 Wolverines, he endured a shoulder injury that led to surgery before the 2015 spring game.[14] McCray had to have a second surgery before the 2015 season and was considering transferring. That season Jim Harbaugh became coach and brought in D. J. Durkin as defensive coordinator.[14] He missed the entire 2015 season due to assorted injuries, including shoulder issues. He was a standout in the 2016 Spring game.[2] [15]

Following the 2015 season, Michigan lost all three of its starting linebackers to graduation.[16] The team hired Don Brown as its defensive coordinator.[14] 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.[17] 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.[18] [19] That season, he and Jourdan Lewis raised their fists during the national anthem to help raise social consciousness.[20] Following the season, McCray was an honorable mention All-Big Ten defensive selection by both the coaches and the media for the 2016 Michigan Wolverines football team.[21] [22] McCray completed his undergraduate studies and pursued graduate studies the following year.[23]

The next year, as a fifth-year senior, he was named co-captain (along with Mason Cole) for the 2017 Wolverines, following in his father's footsteps (McCray Sr. was a fifth-year senior co-captain for the 1988 Ohio State Buckeyes football team).[24] [25] He did not start in the season opener against Florida, but did play although he appeared to be dealing with an injury.[26] Following the season McCray, earned 2017 All-Big Ten team honorable mention recognition from the coaches and the media.[27] [28]

Professional career

McCray signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent on May 10, 2018.[29] On July 24, 2018, McCray announced his retirement from the NFL just two days before the start of training camp.[30]

Coaching career

It was announced that McCray has been promoted to a Defensive Analyst for the Michigan Wolverines for the 2019 season, while McCray was an intern during the 2018 season after retiring from football.[31] He was hired by Notre Dame Fighting as graduate assistant for the 2020 season.[32] In 2021 season, UMass Minutemen football hired McCray as outside linebackers coach along Don Brown who was coaching for Michigan Wolverines while McCray was playing for Michigan Wolverines.[33]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mike McCray - Football Coach . University of Massachusetts Athletics . en.
  2. Web site: Kornacki: 'Big Play' McCray Raring To Go. September 10, 2016. April 5, 2016. Kornacki, Steve. MGoBlue.com.
  3. Web site: Bios for 2013 Michigan Football Signee. September 10, 2016. February 6, 2013. MGoBlue.com.
  4. Web site: Mike McCray II just like his dad – sort of. September 10, 2016. October 4, 2011. ESPN. Shanker, Jared.
  5. Web site: Tonight's high-school football playoff games. September 11, 2016. November 23, 2012. Columbus Dispatch. Znidar, Mark.
  6. Web site: Michigan player latest to commit NCAA no-no on Twitter?. September 10, 2016. March 6, 2012. NBC Sports. Taylor, John.
  7. Web site: Michigan football team alerts compliance department after receiver Roy Roundtree commits possible minor NCAA violation. September 10, 2016. March 6, 2012. The Ann Arbor News. Meinke, Kyle.
  8. Web site: Michigan football commit Mike McCray, son of former Ohio State captain, receives offer from Buckeyes. September 10, 2016. May 25, 2012. The Ann Arbor News. Meinke, Kyle.
  9. Web site: Ohio State, Michigan tangle over Ohio talent. September 10, 2016. November 29, 2013. The Columbus Dispatch. Rabinowitz, Bill.
  10. Web site: Shoulder injury sidelines U-M commit. September 10, 2016. December 31, 2012. ESPN. Sherman, Mitch.
  11. Web site: Trotwood-Madison (Ohio) linebacker Mike McCray commits to Michigan. September 10, 2016. March 6, 2012. MaxPreps. Spiewak, Stephen.
  12. Web site: Mike McCray 9. September 10, 2016. MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive.
  13. Web site: Michigan Takes On Notre Dame In Road Opener. September 10, 2016. September 3, 2014. MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive.
  14. Web site: Mike McCray's Michigan career comes full circle. September 12, 2017. August 29, 2017. ESPN. VanHaaren, Tom.
  15. Web site: Maize-N-Brew: Identifying possible standouts after U-M's spring game. September 11, 2016. April 4, 2016. USA Today. Broome, Anthony.
  16. Web site: Prized 2013 Michigan recruit LB Mike McCray back in the running. September 11, 2016. March 10, 2016. USA Today. Snyder, Mark.
  17. Web site: Michigan football: Linebacker Mike McCray has big return after injuries. September 10, 2016. September 5, 2016. NCAA. Snyder, Mark. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160907034813/http://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2016-09-05/michigan-football-linebacker-mike-mccray-has-big-return-after. September 7, 2016. mdy-all.
  18. Web site: Big Ten Football Players of the Week: Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State and Wisconsin standouts claim honors. September 10, 2016. September 5, 2016. BigTen.org. CBS Interactive. https://web.archive.org/web/20160908041300/http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/090516aaa.html. September 8, 2016. dead. mdy-all.
  19. Web site: Awards and Honors: McCray Top B1G Defender of the Week. September 10, 2016. September 5, 2014. MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. https://web.archive.org/web/20160910024535/http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/090516aaa.html. September 10, 2016. dead.
  20. Web site: Michigan LB Mike McCray explains his raised fist during anthem. September 12, 2017. September 27, 2016. USA Today. Snyder, Mark.
  21. Web site: 2016 Big Ten Individual Award Winners. December 1, 2016. November 30, 2016. CSTV.com. September 28, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180928055540/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/big10/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2016-17/misc_non_event/16fbawardwinners.pdf. dead.
  22. Web site: Peppers, Lewis Lead All 11 Defenders Honored by B1G. December 1, 2016. November 29, 2016. MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. https://web.archive.org/web/20170622192605/http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/112916aaa.html. June 22, 2017. dead.
  23. Web site: @B1Gfootball statis i[date|accessdate=September 12, 2017|date=September 7, 2017|publisher=[[Twitter]]].
  24. Web site: Michigan football: Mike McCray's dad also was a captain - for Ohio State. September 12, 2017. August 30, 2017. Detroit Free Press. Sipple, George.
  25. Web site: For Mason Cole, Mike McCray, Michigan captain is a big deal. September 12, 2017. August 29, 2017. MLive.com. Zuke, Ryan.
  26. Web site: Wilton Speight starts at QB for Michigan football vs. Florida Gators. September 12, 2017. September 2, 2017. Detroit Free Press. Baumgardner, Nick.
  27. Web site: Thirteen Wolverines Named All-Big Ten on Defense, Special Teams. November 28, 2017. November 28, 2017. BigTen.org. CBS Interactive.
  28. Web site: Big Ten Announces Football All-Conference Teams for Defense and Special Teams: The Big Ten Conference announced the 2017 All-Big Ten football honorees on defense and special teams on Tuesday. A total of 63 students were selected to either of the All-Big Ten teams selected by the coaches and media, while another 63 students were awarded honorable mention status. November 28, 2017. November 28, 2017. BigTen.org. CBS Interactive. https://web.archive.org/web/20171130220121/http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/112817aac.html. November 30, 2017. dead. mdy-all.
  29. Web site: Dolphins sign 13 undrafted college free agents. Williams, Charean. ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com. May 10, 2018.
  30. Web site: Dolphins undrafted rookie Mike McCray decides to retire. ESPN.com. July 24, 2018.
  31. Web site: Michigan promotes former LB Mike McCray to analyst. September 27, 2019. February 28, 2019. MLive.com. Mulholland, Mike.
  32. Web site: 2021-03-18 . Former Michigan LB, grad assistant headed to Notre Dame . 2022-09-06 . WolverinesWire . en-US.
  33. Web site: Brice . John . UMass, Don Brown add former Michigan star, Notre Dame analyst to Minutemen staff . 2022-09-06 . Footballscoop . en.

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