Illini are in McCrays top two after visit

Rivals100 defensive end D'Angelo McCray made his first official visit of the season this weekend to Illinois. The 6-foot-4, 289-pounder from Jacksonville (Fla.) Andrew Jackson was impressed enough by what he saw in Champaign to put the Illini into his top two.

"The visit was straight and I had fun there," he said. "I got to see the team play and hung out with most of the players.

"I thought the game was real nice. They've got a young team, but I think they'll end up being good in a while. I thought the defensive line played pretty well and they are just a little inexperienced, but they'll be alright."

Illinois rolled out the red carpet for McCray's visit as he was hosted by Juice Williams and Vontae Davis.

"I was able to kick it with Juice all weekend and hang out with Vernon Davis's brother, they both were my hosts," he said. "They just talked to me about campus life and playing time. They mentioned that seven freshman came in and are playing right now. If I come in there, I definitely want to start right away. It was a lot of fun talking to Juice. He's the big man on campus and he showed me how it is there."

Of course, the No. 7 player in Florida was able to meet with a few of the coaches too.

"I mostly talked with coach Disch and Zook," he said. "They were both cool guys and just told me how much they want me to come there. Coach Zook in particular said he could really see me playing there and thinks I'd fit in well."

Overall the four-star prospect had a good trip to Illinois.

"I'd rate the visit an eight or a nine," he said. "I had fun and it was an exciting trip. I'd say Florida and Illinois are my leaders right now with Louisville, Ole Miss and Georgia Tech on the outside.

"Illinois is up there because I see them as a program that is moving up, while Florida is already there. The other schools are being held back because I want to wait and see what happens on those trips."

McCray plans to take two more officials this month to Louisville this week followed by Georgia Tech on the 27th.

"I am down to Florida, Illinois, Louisville, Ole Miss and Georgia Tech," he said. "I just want to go and check out how it is at those schools. I do still plan to take visits to Florida and Ole Miss too."