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Gators land 5-stars DJ Lagway, LJ McCray to anchor No. 16 class

edgar thompson, orlando sentinel
·3 min read

GAINESVILLE — Florida coach Billy Napier’s third National Signing Day was as much about who the Gators lost as who they signed. Since the start of November, eight commits decided to sign with other schools, including four top-100 recruits — 5-star safety Xavier Filsaime, linebacker Adarius Hayes, defensive tackle Amaris Williams and edge rusher Jamonta Waller. But UF was able to secure its top two recruits in 5-star quarterback DJ Lagway and 5-star defensive lineman LJ McCray. UF ended the day ranked No. 16 in the nation, according to 247Sports, and seventh in the SEC. This after the Gators finished 5-7, the program’s third straight losing season — and second under Napier. In 2022 and 2023 eight schools with losing records still landed top-15 classes. Yet, 19 of 30 of those programs won at least 10 games.

Fab 5

QB Derek Lagway, Willis (Texas) High:Lagway is the centerpiece of Napier’s third class. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound quarterback was named MaxPreps National Player of the Year after he accounted for 74 touchdowns — 58 passing and 16 rushing during 13 games.

LB Myles Graham, Gainesville Buchholz: The son of former Gators running back Earnest Graham totaled 275 tackles the past three seasons, including 82 as a senior after moving to Florida from Atlanta. He also rushed for 600 yards, averaging 9.7 per carry in 2023.

RB Kahnen Daniels West Point (Miss.) High: The 4-star running back rushed for 2,737 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2023. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Daniels closed his career with a 253-yard performance during the state title game.

TE Amir Jackson, Portal (Ga.) High: The 6-foot-4, 223-pound Jackson recorded 44 catches for 727 yards and 12 touchdowns this past season. He also had 57 tackles, 6 for loss in 2023. Jackson averages 13.6 points and 10.9 rebounds in 88 games.

LJ McCray, Daytona Beach Mainland:The 6-foot-6, 260-pound McCray is the highest-rated recruit in the class, ranking No. 3 among defensive linemen nationally, according to 247Sports. He registered 82 tackles, including 38 for loss (13 sacks), 3 forced fumbles and 2 blocked kicks.

The rest

WR Tawaski Abrams, Dunbar (Fort Myers)

RB Jadan Baugh, Columbia (Decatur, Ga.)

DT Michai Boireau, Creekside (Fairburn, Ga.)

LB Aaron Chiles, Our Lady Good Counsel High (Olney, Md.)

S Josiah Davis, Berrien (Nashville, Ga.)

CB Teddy Foster, Cardinal Mooney (Sarasota)

WR Jerrae Hawkins, IMG Academy (Bradenton)

OT Marcus Mascoll, South Gwinnett (Snellville, Ga.)

OL Noel Portnjagin, Germany

S Gregory Smith III, Sumner High (Riverview)

Edge Brien Taylor Jr., Blinn College (Brenham, Texas)

OT Fletcher Westphal, Tuscarora (Leesburg, Va.)

WR Izaiah Williams, Carrollwood Day (Tampa)

OT Mike Williams, Charles Herbert Flowers (Upper Marlboro, Md.)

Transfers

CB Trikweze Bridges, Oregon

OT Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, San Diego State

WR Chimere Dike, Wisconsin

DL Joey Slackman, Penn

Got away: Where to begin. Besides Filsaime heading to Texas, Hayes to Miami and Waller and Amaris Williams to Auburn, the Gators lost two other top-150 recruits — cornerback Wardell Mack (Texas) and defensive tackle Nasir Johnson (Georgia). Tampa receiver Izaiah Williams and Gainesville defensive tackle Kendall Jackson each opted for Texas A&M, where former Gators’ defensive line coach Sean Spencer landed less than a week after Napier fired him Nov. 27.

Napier: “We anticipated some attrition. Reality is we might have been OK with some of it. You find out a lot about where you’re at when you go through a process and how things are handled to some degree. It goes back to, if you don’t want to be here, let’s go ahead and get that out of the way now, especially in today’s dynamic becauseif they get it wrong now, then maybe it’s not right for them.”

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com