Josh McCray (born February 24, 2002) is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The offic ...

. He previously played for the

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the College athletics, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's Varsity team, varsity sports. The university op ...

High school career

McCray attended Enterprise High School in

Enterprise, Alabama Enterprise is a city in the southeastern part of Coffee County, Alabama, Coffee County and the southwestern part of Dale County, Alabama, Dale County in Southeastern Alabama, United States. Its population was 28,711 at the 2020 United States cen ...

. As a senior, he rushed for 774 yards and 11 touchdowns on 111 carries. A three-star recruit, he committed to play college football at the

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

College career

As a true freshman, McCray recorded 112 carries for 549 yards, making an instant impact. He played in just four games the following season, dealing with injuries. After dealing with injuries during the 2023 season as well, McCray played in 13 games in 2024, totaling 117 carries for 609 yards and 10 touchdowns. In the 2024 Citrus Bowl, he rushed for 114 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Fighting Illini to a 21–17 victory over

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, being named the game's MVP. Following the 2024 season, he entered the transfer portal. On April 20, 2025, McCray announced his decision to transfer to the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

to play for the

References

External links

Illinois Fighting Illini bio
2002 births Living people Players of American football from Alabama Sportspeople from Enterprise, Alabama American football running backs Illinois Fighting Illini football players {{runningback-2000s-stub