2021 NFL Draft Prospect: Greg McCrae, RB, University of Central Florida
Everyone keeps talking about Clemson running back Travis Etienne as being one of the fastest players in the country, but when I turn on film of Central Florida, #2 Greg McCrae is a BURNER.
His story maybe the best of any prospect coming out in the 2021 NFL Draft. He was overlooked in high school, walked on to Division 1 UCF, received a scholarship from the team who pranked him with police officers, and now is in the mix to be their star back.
McCrae is not under the radar now though!
As you all know, Adrian Killings was on the Knights team as well. With him leaving to the NFL and joining the Eagles, McCrae looks to be the next man up.
McCrae was a walk on to Central Florida. He was overlooked in high school and felt he could compete. He has proven that he has the ability to do so. As a Freshman he appeared in 13 games and totaled 151 yards rushing and scored twice.
McCrae tore up TEMPLE
In 2018, he really earned his stripes. The speedy scat back that reminds me of Chris Johnson dominated his conference. He played in all 13 games and ran for 1,182 yards and scored ten total touchdowns. He was the schools first 1000 yard rusher since Storm Johnson back in 2013.
That is when McCrae received a scholarship from the team. His coach Josh Heupel had police officers come in and call McCrae to the front of the room. Then they said will his scholarship help him pay for all these parking tickets and the team went bananas. It was a cool story, but it was a true testament to his hard work.
Last season, McCrae shared carries with Killings but he still was a major contributor. He rushed for 529 yards on 98 carries and scored 7 touchdowns. He was averaging 5.4 yards a carry. His ability to come out the back field and catch the ball is what will help separate him at the next level.
NFL Draft Diamonds Scouting Notes:
Greg McCrae is in a stacked backfield still. They have Bentavious Thompson, and Otis Anderson still in the mix. I think McCrae this three headed monster is going to be special in 2020. McCrae will likely be the one who receives the most touches. I think he can go over 1000 again in 2020. He has breakaway speed, I would not be shocked if the kid runs in the low 4.3’s. He looks like a track kid playing football. – Damond Talbot, NFL Draft Diamonds Owner
NFL Draft Diamonds was created to assist the underdogs playing the sport. We call them diamonds in the rough. My name is Damond Talbot, I have worked extremely hard to help hundreds of small school players over the past several years, and will continue my mission. We have several contributors on this site, and if they contribute their name and contact will be in the piece above. You can email me at nfldraftdiamonds@gmail.com