Although his move up to the Power-Four level didn’t go as well as he’d hoped, Grayson McCall’s college football career will be remembered as spectacular for those who are in the know.
The North Carolina State (4-4 straight up, 1-7 against the spread) quarterback was forced to announce his retirement Wednesday due to repeated concussions that have unfortunately left him unable to return to the field.
“I have battled injuries my whole career, but this is one that I cannot come back from,” McCall said in a post to his Instagram account. “Brain specialists, my family, and I have come to the conclusion that it is in my best interest to hang the cleats up.”
McCall was carted off the field after taking a shot to the head in a 34-30 home loss vs. Wake Forest on Oct. 5. He sustained a scary concussion last year when he was still playing for Coastal Carolina in its 27-17 win over Arkansas St.
McCall’s storied career for the Chanticleers began in 2019 when he took a redshirt after playing in only two games and completing all four pass attempts for 25 yards and one touchdown without an interception.
In 2020, McCall won the first of his three consecutive Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year awards. He led Coastal Carolina to an 11-1 record by connecting on 68.8 percent of his passes for 2,488 with an elite 26/3 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
McCall also had 569 rushing yards, seven TDs and a 5.1 yards-per-carry average. He led the SBC in both passing yards and TD passes.
In 2021, Coastal extended its regular-season winning streak to 18 games before losing 30-27 at Appalachian St. The Chanticleers would finish the season 11-2, including a 47-41 win over No. Illinois in the Cure Bowl.
McCall led the SBC in completion percentage (73.0%) and threw for 2,873 yards with a stellar 27/3 TD-INT ratio. He added 290 rushing yards and four TDs.
In 2022, McCall helped Coastal get out to an 8-1 start in its first nine games before an injury kept him out of the next two contests. He returned to the field 24 days later in a 45-26 loss at Troy in the SBC Championship Game.
For the season, McCall connected on an SBC-best 69.7 percent of his throws for 2,700 yards with a 24/2 TD-INT ratio. He also had 195 rushing yards and six TDs.
When Jamey Chadwell elected to leave Coastal to replace Hugh Freeze as Liberty’s next head coach after the 2022 campaign, McCall briefly entered the transfer portal. In the end, though, he chose to return to the Chanticleers to play for new HC Tim Beck.
McCall’s season would only last seven games, however, with the scary concussion at Arkansas St. ending his tenure as Coastal’s star QB. In those seven 2023 contests, McCall had a 67.4 completion percentage for 1,919 yards with a 10/6 TD-INT ratio.
McCall’s 10,005 career passing yards make him Coastal’s all-time leader in that category.
In only four games with NC St. this year, McCall completed 66.3 percent of his passes for 518 yards and three TDs compared to two interceptions.
During his six-year collegiate career, McCall had a 69.6 completion percentage, 10,523 passing yards and a 91/16 TD-INT ratio. In addition, he had 1,166 career rushing yards and 18 TDs.
McCall’s stats are all over the Sun Belt record books. He is the league’s all-time leader in completion percentage (69.6%), passing yards per attempt (9.8), adjusted passing yards per attempt (11), passer efficiency rating (178.4) and total yards per play (8.1).
McCall is second in SBC history in TDs responsible for (106), passing TDs (88) and passing yards per completion (14.1). His 11,118 total yards rank sixth in league annals.
McCall’s record as a starting QB was 34-10.
By any measure, McCall’s playing career was elite. Here’s a Hat Tip and best wishes to Coastal Carolina’s best player ever, Grayson McCall.