Lawal McCray, Sr. enters his tenth season at his alma mater of Bethune-Cookman University.
The 2017 season welcomed a new challenge for McCray, as he moved from coaching the tight ends to serving as running game coordinator. He also coached the offensive line for the Wildcats. McCray helped produced three All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference selections in First Teamer Dwayne Brown, Second Team meber Chris Adams, and Third Team lineman Philip Norman.
Brown was named MEAC Offensive Lineman of the Week (Oct. 2), helping to block for the team with the fifth-best total offensive output in the conference (341.2 y/g). He graded out at better than 92 percent on all assignments in six of 11 games across the campaign. Adams played and started in all 11 games for the Wildcats at the center position, grading out at 92 percent on all assignments for the season. He was named MEAC Offensive Lineman of the Week (Sept. 11) following a road win at Southeastern Louisiana, in addition to accumulating eight pancake blocks with 11 downfield blocks.
Norman played and started in all 11 games for the Wildcats as an offensive tackle, helping to block for the team with the fifth-best total offensive output in the conference (341.2 y/g). Norman graded out above 85 percent on the year for all assignments, and helped pave the way for an offensive unit that racked up 215.3 yards per game through the air, good for third in the MEAC. After graduation, Norman signed to play in the Canadian Football League with British Columbia.
For two seasons from 2015-16, McCray worked as the tight ends coach for Bethune-Cookman in Head Coach Terry Sims’ first two seasons at the helm in Daytona Beach. The tight end position for the Wildcats has been a positive one throughout the years, providing extra blocking for a high-octane running and passing attack, in addition to much-needed receptions in key situations.
McCray has more than 20 years of coaching experience, and is no stranger to the Bethune-Cookman campus after spending two years as an offensive center and tackle for the Wildcats from 1987-88. He eventually transferred to BCU after spending the 1986 season at Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Virginia.
In 2015, the tight ends such as Ja-Quan Lumas helped to create the offense for the Cats into an even more powerful weapon. Lumas finished the campaign with nine catches for 143 yards and three touchdowns. His catch against South Carolina State at home in a game televised nationally on ESPNU helped spark the Maroon and Gold to victory in a Thursday night performance.
With McCray also serving as Recruiting Coordinator for BCU during the 2015 and ’16 seasons, respectively, the 2015 recruiting class for Bethune-Cookman was once again heralded as a Top 20 performance by numerous publications covering the FCS and HBCU, including BoxToRow and The Sporting News – now known as STATS LLC.
Throughout another Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championship season of 2014, McCray taught a duo of tight ends that were vital for the Wildcats success. Preseason College Football Performance Award (CFPA) member Justin Henderson was clutch for the Wildcats in games against FIU and Norfolk State – both true road contests for Bethune-Cookman. Henderson caught a 29-yard pass that led to a score for BCU in heavy downpours at NSU, and a game televised nationally on ESPNU in Thursday night action.
The 2013 season saw BCU tight ends make tremendous strides and efforts for the Wildcats on the gridiron. Senior Jordan Murphy grabbed the game-winning touchdown in the John Merritt Classic versus Tennessee State in Nashville, Tennessee. He concluded the campaign with 13 receptions for 140 yards and the lone touchdown. Beside Murphy was newcomer Justin Henderson, transferring in during the spring from Memphis. Henderson grabbed one catch for 22 yards, while Isaac Virgin hauled in a pass for 14 yards.
In 2012, McCray was a part of the offensive unit that helped the Wildcats finish atop the league in several statistical categories, as well as serving as one of the nation’s most prolific and high-powered offenses overall.
Bethune-Cookman won its MEAC title in three years, as well as going 8-0 in league play for the first time in school history. It was also the first unblemished league mark for the Wildcats since going 4-0 in 1984.
McCray’s wide receivers and tight ends were a big reason for that success. Six wide receivers had more than 100 yards for the year, with tight end Jordan Murphy claiming five catches himself. The top four receivers all had 13 or more catches, while the receiving core accumulated 15 of the team’s 43 touchdowns on the campaign. Eddie Poole led the bunch with 32 catches for 439 yards and five touchdowns. He was followed by K.J. Stroud with 26 catches for 293 yards and a score.
In the Florida coaching circuit, McCray is known to all after serving as head coach at Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach for two years prior to his hiring to come to Daytona Beach by head coach Brian Jenkins. McCray was the offensive line coach, in-season strength and conditioning coordinator and team academic coordinator for Lincoln University under the legendary “Leaping” Lamar Parrish. McCray also served as the Head Coach at Boyd H. Anderson High in Lauderdale Lakes, Fla. At Boyd Anderson, he was able to turn a program around and lead them to the playoffs for the first time in five years. Both years, the offensive unit was ranked in the top three for offensive production.
A native of Pompano Beach, Florida, McCray is a 1991 graduate of Bethune-Cookman. He earned his B.S. Degree in Criminal Justice from the Daytona Beach based campus. McCray also earned his Master’s Degree in School Guidance and Counseling from Nova Southeastern University in 2000, and is currently pursuing his Educational Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern.
He was one of 60 coaches nationwide selected to participate in the 2011 NCAA–NFL Football Coaching Academy held in Orlando, Florida.
McCray is a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., International Free and Accepted Masons, Broward County Chapter of Bethune-Cookman University Alumni Association, It’s All about Youth non-profit organization, Greater Bethel A.M.E. Church, and Broward County Athletic Association.
He is married to the former Maralice Castellow and has two children, daughter Lamiah and son Lawal Jr.
