Coming from Enterprise, Alabama — a small city in the southeast corner of the state — true freshman Josh McCray was forced into a quick adjustment upon arriving at Illinois in June. Enterprise, which has a population of almost 29,000 people, doesn't boast many similarities to Champaign-Urbana, which is home to over 130,300 residents and a top public university.
One of the biggest shocks for McCray when he got to Champaign was the facilities. At home he had a little weight room that got the job done but seeing the one in the Smith Center was surreal for McCray. Then came the decked-out locker room, the bowling alley and the giant meeting rooms, not to even mention the Illinois campus itself. McCray admits coming into such a new environment was overwhelming.
"Every freshman goes through transitions, but Enterprise, Alabama to Champaign-Urbana is a completely unique transition," Bielema said. "I've had kids from all over the county, but for kids who are in that part of the country, to come to a different kind of environment on his own. He's not surrounded by anybody else from Alabama. There's not a lot of southern players, so there was a little bit of a transition he went through."
The most surreal part of it all came on Friday, when McCray broke multiple tackles and threw out a stiff arm to score a 38-yard touchdown, the first of his young career. His score tied the game at 10 for the Illini, sending the crowd and the sideline into a frenzy.
"Just hearing everybody going crazy like that, I'm not used to anything like that," McCray said. "In high school we probably had like 700, 800 people at the games. …That was just a hype moment. It was crazy. My phone was goin' nuts after that game."
While McCray became the first true freshman running back to score a touchdown since former Illini Ra'Von Bonner and Mike Epstein in 2017, to Bielema, it almost felt like a long time coming.
McCray was Bielema's first recruit and signee as the Illini head coach. Conversations with McCray started just after Dec. 20, 2020, when Bielema got in touch with a longtime friend and McCray's high school defensive coordinator, Jed Kennedy.
Bielema and Kennedy's connection goes years back to when Bielema was the head coach at Wisconsin. Kennedy suggested Bielema check out Kenosha running back Melvin Gordon, who later became a star back for the Badgers, a Heisman Trophy runner-up and a first round NFL Draft pick.
Once Bielema and McCray started talking, the chemistry was instantly there.
"Last year we really just talked on the phone a lot, stayed on FaceTime," McCray said. "He was like he can't wait to get me up here to check out the facilities and stuff. Whenever we first get up here, he made me feel like home. He got to see my family; my family really loves him. He's a real family man."
While McCray received several other Power-5 offers in 2020, he was glad he waited out the recruiting process. Bielema offered him right before the new year and within a week, McCray committed to the Illini.
"It was a done deal once I got that offer," McCray said.
McCray enrolled at Illinois in late June and got to work with Bielema, offensive coordinator Tony Petersen and running backs coach Cory Patterson.
Throughout the summer he had grown closer with the deep running back room consisting of Mike Epstein, Chase Brown, Chase Hayden, Jakari Norwood and Reggie Love III — all guys that already had college playing experience. McCray watched how the guys approached meetings and practices and tried to mimic their productive habits.
"The whole running back room and coach, they got me ready for this. That's really all it was," McCray said. "I just stayed with them a lot over the summer. Then camp time, that's really when I had to just lock in on all the plays, play calling. Because when you first get here as a freshman it's hard."
Bielema said it took most of the summer and fall camp for McCray to mature and adjust to his new home. But by the time preparation for Nebraska rolled around, McCray was right on the bubble of playing, which sparked some extra motivation that Bielema saw in the early season practices.
While McCray didn't get any carries in the first game, injuries to Chase Brown and Chase Hayden leading up to the UTSA game created a void in the running back rotation. By that time, Patterson and Bielema were impressed with how McCray was practicing.
"He's been growing ever since he got here," Patterson said. So, it's one of those things that you continue to just see him grow and mature and pick things up. And we thought it's time to give this guy a shot."
Bielema and Patterson spent the week helping McCray prepare for the Roadrunners as they knew he would be needed on Saturday. It didn't really settle in for McCray until Bielema asked him what his favorite play was in the elevator just before the team's warmups for UTSA. When McCray started Illinois' first drive of the second quarter, Bielema called McCray's favorite play which resulted in a first down. Later that drive, the Illini scored their first touchdown of the game.
McCray got five carries for 16 yards in the UTSA game, but after Mike Epstein went down with an injury, Bielema knew he would need the freshman again at Virginia. In the team's first road game, McCray ran for 33 yards on seven carries.
After seeing McCray's progress between the weeks, Bielema sensed a special play coming for the big back against Maryland and he wasn't wrong.
"I told him on Wednesday of last week, this is the week," Bielema said. "You're going to make a play, do something that's going to go to the crib and the whole stadium kind of feels it but you're going to see the reaction."
The reaction to McCray's touchdown run against Maryland was just as Bielema predicted it. Along with the score, McCray rushed for 60 yards while recording 40 receiving yards against the Terrapins.
While McCray got banged up at the end of the Maryland game, Bielema said he will be ready to go for Purdue this weekend. In Monday's press conference, Petersen said if the Illini backs stay healthy moving forward, McCray and Chase Brown will likely be the two main guys in the backfield this season.
But this is all just the beginning for McCray, who is still settling into the collegiate football environment and trying to get better every day.
"I think Josh is going to be a big part of our future," Bielema said. "He's a very talented player that's got a lot of right ingredients to make a really special player in the big picture."
