Texas Tech announces signing of Drae McCray
LUBBOCK, Texas – After already signing the fastest class in college football just over a week ago, Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire added more elite speed through the transfer portal Thursday night in wide receiver Drae McCray, who has inked an athletic scholarship agreement with the Red Raiders.
McCray, the Atlantic Sun Conference’s leader in both receptions and receiving yards this past year, will have two seasons of eligibility remaining with the Red Raiders where he will reunite with offensive analyst Kirk Bryant and tight ends coach Josh Cochran, who both coached him in 2021 at Austin Peay.
“We are fortunate to be signing easily one of the fastest players in college football,” McGuire said. “We believe Drae will flourish in this offense under Coach (Emmett) Jones and Coach (Zach) Kittley’s development. He will make us more dynamic with his speed and provide valuable matchup problems that will allow our offense to continue to be one of the most explosive in the country.”
McCray caught 129 passes for 1,888 yards and 17 touchdowns combined the past two seasons, earning first team All-ASUN honors this fall in the process. McCray is a two-time All-Conference honoree after being tabbed to the first team in 2021 when Austin Peay was still a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. He was also an All-Newcomer team honoree as a true freshman in 2021.
McCray, a native of Tallahassee, Florida, led the Governors in receptions, receiving yards, all-purpose yards and receiving touchdowns in each of his two seasons. He recorded 53 receptions for 882 yards and eight touchdowns as a true freshman alone, finishing with 1,030 all-purpose yards in 11 games.
McCray followed with a strong sophomore campaign, totaling 76 catches for 1,021 yards and nine touchdowns to help Austin Peay to a 7-4 record. He also added 12 carries for 54 yards and three kick returns for 54 yards as a sophomore, which was capped by a season-high 12 catches for 92 yards in a loss at Alabama to end the season. A dynamic returner, McCray took his only punt return of his career to the end zone as a true freshman.
McCray signed with Austin Peay out of North Florida Christian School in the Florida panhandle where he totaled 4,385 all-purpose yards over his prep career. In addition to his success on the gridiron, McCray is similar to many other Texas Tech signees with high-end verified times in the 100 meters, clocking in as low as 10.3 seconds.
McCray joins a Texas Tech signing class that already ranks in the top 25 in college football. For a full list of Texas Tech’s signing class, please visit here.
–TECH–
Release provided by Matt Dowdy Texas Tech Athletics
