Drae McCray.

If you were at Saturday's game at Fortera Stadium I don't need to say anything else, you already know what happened. However, just for a little bit, let's pretend you weren't at Fortera Stadium and don't know what McCray did so I can tell you about one of the greatest individual performances in Austin Peay football history.

On the first offensive play of the second quarter for the Govs, McCray took a swing pass from Draylen Ellis, beat every single Tennessee Tech defender to the edge and then made the Golden Eagles look like they were in quicksand as they chased him down the sideline. 73 yards – untouched – for touchdown number one.

A few possessions later, McCray hauled in a 20-yard grab to start the drive. Later Ellis danced around the pocket before finding a wide-open McCray in the endzone from 22-yards out. 3 catches, 115 yards, and 2 touchdowns… a solid week for some receivers, this was just the first half for the Tallahassee, Florida native.

With less than two minutes left in the third quarter and the Govs on the Tennessee Tech 36-yard line, Ellis found McCray streaking down the sideline – past everyone in purple and gold – and hit the 5-8 freshman in stride in the endzone. A 36-yard strike for touchdown number three and his 158 receiving yards of the day – already a career-high and the second-best performance in the Ohio Valley Conference this season.

On his very next catch, McCray authored maybe his most impressive score of the day. McCray juggled and hauled in a low screen pass around midfield, before breaking an arm tackle, bouncing outside, and finding a gear that nobody else on the field had to race 47 yards for his fourth touchdown – matching the Austin Peay single-game record.

While the 47-yard score was his final touchdown of the day, McCray moved himself into rarer air with his final catch, a 32-yard grab that gave him 237 receiving yards on the day. Oh, and let's not forget, McCray added a yard on the ground and 61 kick return yards, do the math, that's 299 all-purpose yards. The OVC Offensive Player of the Week and Newcomer of the Week were all but locked up at this point of the event.

"In the moment of the game, I had no idea," said McCray on his big day. "I was just playing and trying to make plays. Whenever I did find out, I just had to go in the team room, get away from everyone, sit down and just soak it all in."

On Sunday, McCray received both of the aforementioned awards. But now that the awards have been handed out, it's time to take a look at the numbers and break down just how impressive McCray's day was in the Govs final game of the 2021 season.

237 receiving yards. That is the second-best single game in program history, behind Austin Peay Hall of Famer Harold "Red" Roberts, you might have heard of him – or seen his number hanging up a Fortera Stadium. Roberts had a program-record 20 catches for 252 yards against Murray State in 1969, that's 12.6 yards per catch… McCray needed just seven grabs to pick up his 237 yards, that's 33.9 yards per grab – both marks are incredibly impressive in their own way.

McCray's four touchdown grabs also matched another of Roberts's records, but Red did it twice, grabbing four touchdowns against Murray State in 1967 and 1969 – he really hated the Racers it seems. Ron Blair also caught four touchdowns against Kentucky Wesleyan in 2001 and Baniko Harley hauled in four touchdowns against Southeast Missouri in the spring of 2021.

For as good as the Govs have been at receiver in recent memory – Kyran Moore, DeAngelo Wilson, and Harley just to name a few – none of them have recorded 200-plus receiving yards in a single game. The 200-yard day by McCray was the first by a Governor since Michael Farrell's 210-yard outing against Campbellsville on August 30, 2001 – that was about a year before McCray was born, but who's counting.

Now we go to the conference level, where to put it simply, McCray's 237-yard, four-touchdown day is the best by an OVC receiver this season. Eastern Illinois' Isaiah Hill had 207 receiving yards against Southeast Missouri, but he only found the end zone once. McCray's four touchdowns are double the best game any other receiver – including himself – had this season and his 73-yard grab is tied for the longest catch in the league this season.

Not only did McCray have the best day of any OVC receiver this season, his four touchdowns and 24 points scored is tied with Murray State's Preston Rice for the top performance in the league this season and his 299 all-purpose yards blows out the 232 all-purpose yards that Southeast Missouri's Geno Hess posted at Tennessee State.

Now we look at the national picture, where 237 receiving yards is tied for the third-best performance in the FCS this season behind a 239-yard day by Presbyterian's Jalen Jones and a 251-yard outing by Central Arkansas' Tyler Hudson. In terms of freshmen, McCray's 237-yard day is the only 200-plus yard performance this season, topping Presbyterian's Jalyn Witcher's 192-yard day against San Diego as the best mark by an FCS freshman.

In terms of touchdowns, a 5-TD day by Presbyterian's Jones is the only performance that tops McCray this season, and he is one of eight players – and three freshman – to haul in four touchdown catches in the FCS this season.

Then there's the 299 all-purpose yards, which are the sixth-best single-game performance in the FCS this season. Western Carolina's Calvin Jones, who racked up 305 all-purpose yards against East Tennessee, is the only FCS freshman that tops McCray this season.

"We have been saying all year that Drae McCray, who is a true freshman… you expect him to go make those plays that he made today" said head coach Scotty Walden. "He has just gotten better every week. He has honed his craft and Coach (Austin) Silvoy has done an amazing job in developing him.

"We moved him around a lot today… he is a diverse player that can literally play all over the field. I know that he is going to be a staple for Austin Peay State University for years to come. Fans better get used to hearing his name because he is a special young man and player."

Well, Govs fans, you heard it from the head man himself, get used to hearing the name Drae McCray and don't be surprised if you hear it time and time again during the postseason awards season. McCray is a finalist for the STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award, which is given to the best freshman in the FCS each season, and should be in consideration for all of the Freshman All-America teams in the coming months.

So, sit back, relax, and watch McCray rack up awards this winter, and then when football season rolls around next fall, buckle up, because the Drae McCray Show is coming back to a football field near you.