Grayson McCall is loving life at Coastal Carolina, and he hopes the NFL will be next

Coastal Carolina has built a reputation the last three seasons of not only winning football games, but celebrating those wins very, shall we say, enthusiastically.

And so it was earlier this season, when the Chanticleers topped Georgia State 41-24 at the former Turner Field in Atlanta, there were baseball-themed theatrics involving a Panther mascot that was eventually body-slammed by an umpire.

And who was front and center, wildly cheering on the mayhem surrounded by teammates? It was quarterback Grayson McCall, a veteran of many of these postgame parties, still enjoying them to the fullest and showing why, when he announced he was returning for his junior season, he pisses teal.

“These are the days I dreamed of (as a kid), and I’m living them every day,” McCall says. “Every time I step on the field, I thank the man above for giving me the opportunity and just remind myself why I do it when I have heartaches and hard times. To get to where I am now, it's awesome. I try to never take it for granted.”

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McCall has quarterbacked an inexperienced Chanticleers team to the fringe of the AP Top 25 poll and into first place in the Sun Belt East division at 7-1 heading into Thursday night’s ESPN game against Appalachian State. In his three years as a starter, McCall owns a 27-3 record. He’s been in the top five in passer rating nationally all three seasons. Coastal Carolina has one conference title, two bowl appearances and a third on the way under McCall.

And yet, for all his on-field accomplishments, most college football fans know McCall for a tweet he sent out last December.

‘It blew up more than I expected’

Grayson McCall was in demand. After backing up Coastal’s 11-1 dream finish in 2020 with another double-digit win season, schools were reaching out to Porter Ridge (N.C.) High School coach Michael Hertz to see if his former QB had any interest in transferring.

For the first time, major colleges had McCall on their radar. Coming out of a run-heavy, option-based attack at Porter Ridge, McCall had no Power 5 offers and at one point was looking at Army and Coastal Carolina. Now, after accounting for 64 touchdowns in two seasons and passing for 5,361 yards, there was speculation McCall would hop into the transfer portal and at least look around.

But just five days after he led Coastal Carolina to a 47-41 Cure Bowl win over MAC champ Northern Illinois, McCall had had enough of the speculation. Once he knew head coach Jamey Chadwell was committed to returning, he knew he would be back, too.

“We were back home. We were hanging out in Charlotte, and he was like, ‘look at this tweet,’” says offensive lineman Will McDonald, who has played with McCall from youth football straight through to Coastal Carolina. “He showed it to me and I was like, ‘Dude, that might blow up,’ kind of jokingly, not really thinking where it might go.”

McCall was ready to let the Coastal Carolina community and college football world at large know he wasn’t going anywhere.

“At one point that season, I tweeted something out about my love for the program and that I pissed teal, so I thought it would be kinda funny to throw it in there toward the end of my announcement.”

pic.twitter.com/8me2w1Tb7D

— Gray (@McCall_Grayson) December 21, 2021

When McCall woke up the next morning, he saw ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit had quote-tweeted it and ESPN’s Rece Davis had liked it. Suddenly, McCall was briefly the lead of the college football news cycle in the middle of bowl season.

“It was a funny gesture, but he meant it in a way because he loves this university,” McDonald says. “I think that’s why he’s been so special and we’ve been so special the past few years.”

And now in the age of NIL, of course, McCall could capitalize on this viral fame. Native Sons, a Myrtle Beach printing shop, has plenty of merch available with the unique catch-phrase. At a Coastal Carolina ‘White-Out’ game against Buffalo on Sept. 17, those shirts were a popular choice at Brooks Stadium. Chadwell showed up for Sun Belt Media Days this summer with an ‘I piss teal’ t-shirt under his dress shirt and unveiled it to the media.

The NIL deals did not stop there. McCall has a relationship with Darlington Raceway, NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway, and promoted its Labor Day race. And McCall was among nine athletes to sign with Tom Brady’s new apparel line, which was announced in December.

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Chadwell says the notoriety and commercial aspect of McCall’s junior season has not impacted the player on or off the field. Chadwell credits McCall’s strong family support as a major factor in his maturity and ability to handle the attention.

After losing the majority of the starters from the Chants’ two-year run that catapulted the program forward, McCall is dealing with a young core and has been taking on a leadership position beyond just being the starting quarterback.

“It's a completely different dynamic for him as a leader. He has to be the one setting an example, while maybe in the other years, he didn’t have to do that,” Chadwell says. “He’s bringing people along with him, which is something he hasn’t had to do in the past. 'Can I still be Mr. Swag and all that, but still be a leader?' That’s a fine line.”

Chadwell says that while McCall has the physical attributes to be a strong QB and he understands how to read defenses, it is his poise when a play breaks down that sets him apart. In the win against Georgia State, McCall ran an option to the right, then was forced to pitch the ball forward to his pitch man when the defense collapsed the play.

Grayson McCall and freshman WR Jared Brown LIT UP Georgia State 🥵

▫️McCall: 19/27, 268 yards, 2TD
▫️Brown: 5 receptions, 129 yards, 2TD

RB CJ Beasley erupted for 142 yards rushing, too!

The Chanticleer offense 🔥 pic.twitter.com/a5K4thIT0t

— Redshirt Heisman (@TasteOfSport) September 23, 2022

“That one wasn’t supposed to happen,” McCall said. “It was a triple-option look and I had to make a guy miss and (my running back) got in front of me and I just tried to get it to him and he made a huge play. Not how we drew it up, but just a football player making a play.”

The Next Level

Jamey Chadwell is just like any college coach.

He prides himself on identifying talent, figuring out athletic fit, projecting how certain skills will fit into his scheme and making sure his players will thrive in the Coastal Carolina culture.

But, pride aside, he will admit he did not see Grayson McCall coming.

“I’m lying if I said I knew he would be this good,” Chadwell says. “We thought we had a good player, but not to this extent.”

The question is, will an NFL team think the same some day?

This is McCall’s fourth year with the program. He redshirted as a freshman, and has now started for three years, rising from QB3 in preseason camp of his second season. He has two years of NCAA eligibility remaining thanks to his redshirt and the COVID-19 season, but he may try his hand at making the NFL after this season. 

Since he will not graduate by December and still has eligibility, he cannot participate in the Senior Bowl like childhood friend and fellow Charlotte-area QB Sam Howell did last season. But he can have Pro Days and get an invite to the NFL Combine. He is generally projected as a third-day prospect or free agent at the next level.

“That is always what Grayson has wanted to do,” says Jody McCall, Grayson’s father. “He didn’t want to be a fireman. Didn’t want to be a policeman. He wanted to be an NFL football player when he was really, really young. I've seen him say, 'the only person i’m competing against is myself.' If he keeps that mentality, he’s going to do whatever it takes (to make the NFL).”

Coastal does not run a conventional pro-style offense by any means, but McCall has developed as a passer since arriving and he feels the NFL is valuing more versatile offensive styles.

“In today’s football with dual threat quarterbacks, you are starting to see more and more shotgun, mesh, read-option, triple-option in the league,” he says. “I think it will translate well, but if it doesn’t, and I have to go under center and be a pro-style quarterback, I’ll be able to handle that as well.”

McCall has made a habit of proving there is more football in him than some expect. That was never more evident than at the prestigious Manning Passing Academy in 2021, when the former two-star prospect was invited to work out with other elite college QBs and then, ironically, mentor the current crop of four- and five-star high school passers.

“It is awesome to see how he’s developed,” says Hertz, who mentioned McCall leaves him a message every week before Porter Ridge’s next game. “He’s a hero around here. We are all super proud. He always had an incredible belief in himself.”