The McCray way

SPRING, Texas - He has a way about him and every one of his teammates feeds off of it. Don't look for Spring (Texas) Westfield safety Danny McCray to get rattled or shook up in a big game situation. That just wouldn't be McCray, who is not only great on the field, but a force on the sidelines as well.

Of course, it's not hard for McCray to laugh about the fact that if you do your job at safety, there aren't going to be a lot of highlights. Then again, McCray admits he's not looking to make stats, but rather be the last line of defense on a very stout Westfield team. Friday night his team moved swiftly passed the first round against Houston Lamar and of course he was his usual confident, but humble self.

"It was a wild game, but we knew they were going to be good," McCray said. "We're good too. With us, it's about who can play 48 minutes. No one has been able to do that with us, and that's the difference."

With his team facing a big match-up with the highly touted North Shore team this coming weekend, McCray's confidence and calmness just comes out without effort.

"The next game is important, because that's the next game we have to pursue," McCray said. "They're a good team, but again, they have to play us the whole game, all 48 minutes like everyone else."

The rumors are always swirling around committed recruits like McCray. However, only one team has remained in an effort to sway him away from LSU.

Like everything else, McCray is sticking to his word.

"Just Tennessee," McCray said about other teams still recruiting him. "It's all LSU. That's what I tell them. I get text messages everyday from them. We talk about them needing to win and my team needing to win so we can be at the same place at the end of the season."

However, don't expect the No. 21 rated safety in the country to say he will start freshman year. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound McCray understands the transition between high school and college, so he will just take it as it comes.

"The coaches say I have a chance," he said about early playing time at LSU. "I'll have to wait and see how practices are there. Whenever I play, I think I'll end up in a top role sooner or later."

Now, it's about finishing out on top. He has looked impressive all year long at his position, but he admits that he's not trying to achieve some stat goal.

Right now, it's about becoming a champion.

"I'm not worried about stats, I just want everybody happy on television with their state title rings on," McCray said. "I don't think it will ever be like this and how close it is with this team. It's a dream come true to be heading to the next level, but this is amazing."

"We do everything together. If we go eat, we do it together. If someone gets in trouble, we do that together too. Well, we fix it together."

McCray is rated as the No. 45 prospect in the state of Texas.