Quarterback Grayson McCall on Wednesday announced his surprising retirement from football.
McCall played five seasons at Coastal Carolina from 2019-2023 before transferring to NC State for the 2024 season. The sixth-year senior has been out since suffering a concussion on a hard hit sustained while scrambling in the first quarter of the Wolfpack’s 33-30 loss to Wake Forest on Oct. 5.
McCall’s helmet came off as a result of the big hit.
The concussion suffered against Wake Forest comes a year after McCall was hospitalized following a hit he took while at Coastal Carolina.
McCall said in an Instagram post that this is not an injury he can come back from.
“Unfortunately, my dream has been cut just short. As you all know I have battled injuries my whole career, but this is one that I cannot come back from. I have done everything I can to continue, but this is where the good Lord has called me to serve in a different space. Brain specialists, my family, and I have come to the conclusion that it is in my best interest to hang the cleats up,” McCall wrote as part of his announcement.
McCall also said he would be going into coaching.
“I look forward to taking my passion and love for the game into the coaching space to serve and lead the next group of kids with a dream,” McCall wrote.
McCall was a three-time Sun Belt Player of the Year. He passed for 10,523 yards and 91 touchdowns during his college career — most of which was achieved while he was at Coastal Carolina. McCall had passed for 518 yards and three touchdowns in four games with NC State this season.
