Why did Grayson McCall leave Coastal Carolina? QB explains transfer decision

Grayson McCall said he “never really wanted to leave” Coastal Carolina.

So why did he?

Speaking at the ACC Kickoff in Charlotte, McCall — a Chanticleers legend and arguably the most decorated player in program history — spoke extensively about his final season in Conway and why he ultimately transferred to North Carolina State.

“The culture is extremely strong,” McCall said Thursday. “Coach (Dave) Doeren has been there for over 10 years. The standard that he’s set in place, the play style that the football team has week in, week out, the toughness and the grit, the blue-collar mentality, the chip on their shoulder … I think it’s a perfect fit.”

Heading into his final year of college football in his home state, McCall emphasized that he couldn’t be happier suiting up for the Wolfpack, which went 9-4 last season and currently has the fourth-best betting odds to win the 2024 ACC championship.

At the same time, he said, he’ll never forget his years in Conway.

“Unbelievable memories, man,” McCall said.

An iconic career

Coastal Carolina was one of only four FBS schools to offer McCall a scholarship coming out of Porter Ridge High School outside Charlotte.

He was a two-star recruit who ranked as the 107th-best player in North Carolina and the No. 2,839 recruit nationally in the Class of 2019.

And he joined a relatively unknown Coastal program that was in its third year as a full-time FBS member and had only been playing the sport since 2003.

“When I got there, it was 5-7, 5-7,” McCall said. “And then we come on the scene in 2020 and have an unbelievable year and just kind of change the program around.”

Indeed, Coastal Carolina in 2020 was one of the best stories of a COVID-affected college football season. With Jamey Chadwell coaching and McCall quarterbacking as a redshirt freshman, the Chants went 11-1 and ranked as high as No. 9 in the AP Top 25 and No. 12 in the College Football Playoff.

That kicked off a scintillating three-year stretch in which Coastal Carolina won 31 games (including 11 games twice), ranked in the AP Top 25 each season, appeared in three bowl games and made its teal playing field a nationally known surface.

McCall became the only player in Sun Belt conference history to win the league’s player of the year award three times and was among the most efficient quarterbacks in the country, throwing 77 touchdowns to eight interceptions his first three years.

“That place is special to me,” McCall said of Coastal Carolina. “Always will be.”

Special enough for McCall — despite drawing significant interest from top schools and taking an official visit to Auburn — to take his name out of the transfer portal in December 2022 and return to Coastal for his senior year after Chadwell left to take Liberty’s head coaching job.

Playing under a new coach in former NC State offensive coordinator Tim Beck and a new offensive system, McCall saw his statistics drop in 2023. He suffered a concussion in an Oct. 21 game at Arkansas State.

He never played another snap for the Chanticleers before entering the transfer portal Nov. 29 and committing to NC State on Dec. 13.

Plans changing

McCall admitted on Thursday that entering the 2024 NFL Draft after his senior season was “always the plan,” but his injury set him back and prompted him to hit the reset button. At one point, he said, the feedback he got from doctors made him think he wouldn’t even be able to play football again (something for which he was eventually cleared).

“Dealing with a brain injury, a bad concussion, it comes into the conversation,” McCall said. “The brain is nothing to play with. Football is a physical sport, and you’re going to have that. But it definitely came up in conversation.”

After speaking with mentors, coaches and family members, McCall said he ultimately decided to enter the transfer portal, with the intent of playing a final season of college football elsewhere and improving his draft stock.

“And I wasn’t just going to enter the portal and go somewhere to go somewhere,” he said. “I was going to go in the portal and make sure I found a perfect fit.”

McCall thinks he’s found that in Raleigh, where he joins a Doeren-led NC State program that’s loaded with returning starters and homegrown talent. The Wolfpack has won eight or more games in six of the past seven seasons and is considered a legitimate second-tier contender for the 2024 ACC championship behind the usual favorites, Florida State and Clemson.

“It’s extremely refreshing to be in a new spot,” McCall said. “I mean, the pressure is always there. But I would say yeah, it’s a little bit off. All the lights are not on me, like how it was for three years. ... It’s been great so far. I’m really excited.”

As that red and white chapter gets underway, though, McCall said he’ll always be thankful for his years at Coastal Carolina, up-and-down final season and all.

“I really, really enjoyed my time there,” McCall said. “Never really wanted to leave. At the end of the day, I had to make a decision that was best for me. But I love Coastal Carolina. I love that place.”