The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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BY JOHN BORTON M ike McCray II had to know how his dad — a former Ohio State linebacker — might react when he hopped out of the car in Michigan gear, following a recruiting trip. Dad didn't disappoint. "I said, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa … you can't come in here with all that on,'" Mike McCray Sr. recalled with a laugh. "This is a Buckeye house.'" It may be, but there's a necessary suspension on the scarlet donning in the McCray household, and those of close relatives normally allied with Michigan's archrival. They might be on the verge of watching their son/grandson/nephew step onto the field as a starting linebacker for That Team Up North. It means the McCrays are at least temporarily going Blue. "They're all big Ohio State fans because I went there, but everybody wears blue," the elder McCray said. "Mike is just one of those kids that people want to support." The former OSU captain knew his son wasn't any sure thing to follow his path to Co- lumbus. As a prep standout at Trotwood-Madison High School in Ohio — where his dad serves as an assistant principal — young Mike McCray got to attend the first-ever night game at Michigan Stadium. The night seemed magical, all the more so when Trotwood-Madison alum Roy Roundtree caught the game-winning pass in a wild, 35-31 win over Notre Dame. Mike Mc- Cray II, now a redshirt junior with the Wolverines, found himself caught up in the fervor. "I loved everything about it — from the academics to the coaching staff to the people I met here on my visits," McCray II said. "When I came here, I just felt like I was at home." Of course, the not so small matter of going back home and eventually breaking the news lay ahead. He didn't make any announcements when he returned, despite the playful tweak regarding the gear. In March of his junior year in high school, though, McCray II made a fateful march down the hallway at Trotwood-Madison. He needed to have a talk with the assistant prin- cipal, and he wasn't even in trouble. Not much, anyway. "He came to my office and said, 'I've made up my mind where I want to go,'" McCray Sr. recalled. "'I prayed about it, and I thought about it, and I told Mom before I left to come to school. I wanted to let you know that I want to go to the University of Michigan.'" While completely on board now, the elder McCray felt compelled to give it the old col- lege try a few weeks later. He attempted to convince his son to change course and head for Columbus. "He said, 'Dad, no disrespect. That was your life,'" McCray Sr. remembered. "'This is my life, and I'm okay with the decision.' And we never had another conversation about it." "He supports us 100 percent, because I'm here," the U-M linebacker assured. "He told me, 'I'm going to support Michigan because you're on the team. I'm with Michigan right now.'" It's an exciting time to be riding that train, and the younger McCray knows it. He per- formed extremely well in spring practice, according to new defensive coordinator Don Blood Is THICKER Mike McCray II Has Many Buckeyes Wearing Blue McCray II, who did not play last year due to a shoulder injury, led the Maize team with seven stops in the spring game and gained the inside track to a starting role at inside linebacker. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL THE WOLVERINE 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 105