Decision date looming for McCloud

Talented running back Ray-Ray McCloud has a date set to announce his college commitment. McCloud will announce his college decision on Monday, July28 on Bright House Cable at 6:30 p.m.

The date is creeping closer and closer — and he has narrowed a vast list of suitors down to Florida, Clemson, Maryland and UCLA — but McCloud told Gator Country on Friday that he still doesn’t have his mind made up on which university he will choose to attend.

“Not completely,” he said when asked if he had made his mind up and knew which school he would announce on Monday. “I’m still weighing out the options a little bit, the last part of it and that’s really it.”

Florida may have a leg up, getting McCloud on campus for Friday Night Lights. They will be the last school that McCloud gets to see in person and the visit is also giving new offensive coordinator Kurt Roper an opportunity to show McCloud how he will be used in the offense.

A talented athlete, McCloud can play running back but is also an adept pass catcher who can split out in the slot, run routes and catch the ball out of the backfield. Roper has shown him how running backs in his system will have the opportunity to do all of those things and how he wants to showcase McCloud in Florida’s offense. “He’s showed me some stuff but he’s going to show me some more stuff today,” McCloud said.

Growing up, McCloud developed a good friendship with Clemson commit Deon Cain. Florida recruited Cain hard before he committed to the Tigers and will continue to recruit him. Despite the childhood friendship, McCloud and Cain aren’t trying to be a package deal at the next level.

“He plays no part in it. Me and Deon grew up together and we’re kind of real close,” he said. “He and I both know that wherever he goes I’ll support him and wherever I go he’ll support me. If we end up going to the same school that would be great but we don’t fight each other to go to the same school.”

McCloud is taking this commitment as a business decision. He would like for his family to be able to see him play college football but he won’t let distance factor into his decision.

“Just knowing your family is close is good but, I mean, it’s a business decision for four or five years,” he said. “Distance doesn’t really have a big play in this.”

McCloud has just over 72 hours before he’ll be on television with four hats on the table. He’ll spend Friday with Florida before heading back down to Tampa to go over everything he has learned and will weigh the pros and cons of all four schools with his family. Ultimately, the decision is his to make.

“Mostly my heart,” McCloud said of what will be the deciding factor in his decision. “Wherever my heart leads me to and wherever my gut feeling is.”

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC

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