It was always expected that Grayson McCall would enter the transfer portal and find a new team before he ended his collegiate career. It's just that it was supposed to be last season when that happened. He re-entered this season and is now transferring to NC State.
Early rumblings last year started when McCall similarly entered the transfer portal, and it was all but certain he would be the new starting quarterback at Auburn under new head coach Hugh Freeze. But due to academic issues, McCall was unable to transfer, leaving him to return to Coastal Carolina for a fifth season, according to Chris Hummer over at 247Sports. It wasn't a season McCall would like to remember, however.
The 23-year-old only played in seven games, where injuries played a factor, including suffering a concussion from a scary hit in the October game against Arkansas State. Red Wolves defensive back Trevian Thomas launched into McCall as he was going to slide, but the quarterback's head bounced off the turf, and he lay there motionless on the field for several minutes afterward before eventually being carted off, leaving the stadium in an ambulance to the hospital.
That game would be it for McCall's 2023 season, although he would, just a few plays before the gruesome hit, become the 146th quarterback in FBS history to earn 10,000 career passing yards, per CBSSports. His season concluded with him able to post 1,919 yards, 11 total touchdowns, and six interceptions. But in the 33 games prior in the three seasons before, McCall was putting up big numbers.
McCall threw for well over 2,400 yards in each of those three seasons, having a 25-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio. For his entire career with the Chanticleers, he went 35-10 as a starter, which included two 11-win seasons, with the 2020 season, in particular, helping Coastal Carolina football win their first Sun Belt title and with a final College Football Playoff ranking at No. 12. Also, during that stretch, McCall was named Sun Belt Player of the Year three consecutive times.
While injuries certainly hampered his 2023 season, there's still reason to believe that McCall can be a highly productive quarterback moving from a Group of Five team like Coastal Carolina in the Sun Belt to a Power-5 team in the ACC like NC State football, this time as a graduate transfer.
NC State, after all, was quietly a top-25 team this season, ranking No. 19 after going 9-3. They now have an opportunity to earn their 10th win for the first time since 2002 in the Pop-Tarts Bowl against Kansas State on Dec. 28. Depending on who is still available for the Wolfpack in 2024, bringing in a potentially more reliable, productive quarterback like McCall next season could make Dave Doeren's NC State football team one to watch out for in the ACC next year. So, let's make some bold predictions for McCall in 2024.
Grayson McCall throws for a career-high in touchdown passes
At 23 years old and with 40 games under his belt, McCall will be bringing plenty of experience to Raleigh, NC next season. Hopefully, there will be enough talent around him for him to facilitate the ball to, where he could reach a career-high in touchdown passes. The most he's thrown for in a single season is 27 in 2021. Could 30 be a realistic number?
Grayson McCall throws for 3,000 yards
Again, this would be yet another career-high for the veteran quarterback. The closest he came was in 2021 when he threw for 2,873 yards, completing 176-of-241 passes.
Grayson McCall leads ACC QBs in completion percentage
The highest completion percentage McCall achieved in his career was 73% in 2021, with his lowest at 67.4% last season. For a career total, he's at 69.9%. North Carolina's Drake Maye was the ACC conference leader in 2023 with 63.3%. He, along with Florida State's Jordan Travis, and Miami's Tyler Van Dyke will all be gone in 2024.
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