Auburn football makes Final Five for 4-star defensive lineman

The Auburn football program is making big moves with the recruiting class of 2024, which is now ranked 16th nationally and 8th in the SEC according to On3 Sports. Momentum is on the rise, and recruits around the country are continuing to look closely at the Tigers’ program.

Earlier this week, 4-star defensive lineman LJ McCray released his Final Five schools, which include Georgia, Miami, Florida, Florida State, and Auburn football.

He is ranked as the #88 overall prospect and the #14 defensive lineman in the recruiting class of 2024. A native of Daytona Beach, FL, he is the #17 recruit out of the Sunshine State. His Florida origins should come as no surprise with the number of Florida schools in his final consideration.

McCray has officially visited all of his top schools in the month of June except Florida State, which will host him on October 7. He has visited the Tigers twice this year, making the trip to observe a spring practice session back in April, and then taking his official visit in the middle of the week on June 12-14.

Though there is a big push for the defensive lineman to stay in his home state of Florida, he is building a strong bond with Auburn football defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett, who he likes as both a recruiter and a person. His trip to the Plains went well, and solidified Auburn football as a top pick, per Auburn Rivals:

"“Definitely up there,” McCray said. “Definitely one of my higher pick schools because they’ve done a great job recruiting me.”"

There is still a long way to go in McCray’s recruitment because he does not plan to commit until after his official visit to Florida State in October, but the Tigers are very much in the race for LJ McCray.