The Cardinal Countdown: 93 Days Until Kickoff

#93 Gary McCrae

Class: RS Senior

Ht/Wt: 6-4/235

Position: Linebacker

Hometown: Cuthbert, GA

Twitter: @N/A

Thoughts: The story on McCrae is a bit of a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ where my man has been around the world (and I I I) of college football, starting as a highly touted prospect who was committed to Georgia, who then landed at a JUCO, who then landed on TV (‘Last Chance U’) who then landed at Louisville, and is now five years into his career without a ton of data to go off of. Is McCrae capable of playing at the next level? I think so, but the young man only has a handful of tape at the D-I level to look at nearly two years in. Season one Gary played well on special teams but had a tough time cracking the rotation at linebacker and then last year a shoulder injury cut his time short after only a game and a half (thanks Indiana State monsoon). So Gary is in his final year and the “beast” we thought Grantham landed has spent more time staring at the enchanted rose than getting out in the woods and fighting off wolves, if you catch my drift.

Gary has the size to be a great player and the talent he showcased at the JUCO level and in high school appeared to be something he could replicate in the ACC. While his minimal impact in 2017 is concerning (although I do love me a fearless special teams player) I think the system Brown and Dennison are putting together will be a great opportunity for McCrae to get back into the swing of things and be a consistent contributor on that side of the ball. Even though it’s tough to point to experience with the attrition Louisville has seen on defense the last three years, playing on the collegiate level for four seasons is not something to scoff at. McCrae will have his work cut out for him earning PT on the outside as Yasir Abdullah is going to be really good, and PJ Blue who slid down from the secondary played well in that spot in 2018. That’s not counting Okeke, Boosie, Rodjay Burns (!!!position change alert!!!) and a couple new freshman that could earn their way onto the field. I’ll be rooting for McCrae this year because I think he has the talent to be a really good linebacker and frankly….I’m a little scared of the man.

Sweet Tweet: No twitter for Gary so take a peek at both Cort and McCrae in action…

Turn to Page 34 to see Cort yell about ‘swag’

Turn to Page 46 to see Cort yell about ‘finishing’